Facing the Demon King Head-On
Thwack!
“Ow, hold up. That hit a bone.”
Pow!
“Ah, that stung the flesh. For real.”
Crack!
“S-Stop! Time out! Something’s off here!”
Hamask was getting pummeled by Cliche’s fists while he gripped her by the hair.
“Yeah, why’d you, set the, mountain, on fire, huh?”
Cliche kept smacking her with his left hand. To the casual observer, it looked like mere scolding knuckle-rapping, but for Hamask on the receiving end, it felt like her head was spinning off her shoulders.
Why does it hurt so damn much?
Each hit sent bone-chilling agony radiating through her joints, like she was some terminal patient on death’s door. Pow! As Cliche’s left fist connected with her body, psshhh—holes punched straight through the ultra-high-temperature flames enveloping her. At the same time, a thin layer of blue frost began creeping over her skin. Adding insult to injury. With every swing of his left hand, the surrounding terrain froze solid.
“Whoa? It’s snowing!”
Swain pointed at the sky and shouted. The night sky, once dyed red by the blaze, had returned to its natural hue. And not just that—fat snowflakes started dumping down in earnest.
Whoooosh—a blizzard whipped in from somewhere, blanketing the cooled ashes in chill.
In mere seconds, the mountain range’s climate had flipped completely.
This can’t be real! Hamask screamed inwardly.
Not only had he casually canceled an 8th-circle-level flame magic with a flick of his wrist, but he’d rewritten the damn weather too? No one in this world should wield such absurd power.
“W-What the hell are you?”
Hamask could only blurt out the same question the knights who’d been here before had asked. And once again, Cliche answered with a stern expression.
“I’m Cliche.”
She felt like she was losing her mind. Hamask clawed at her hair. After thrashing around for a bit, she regained her composure.
“Fine. If you’re some irrational freak, I’ll fight you with irrationality of my own.”
Hamask leaped back from her spot.
“What the,,, hell kinda,,, bullshit is this~~?”
Hotse snarked, truly relieved in her heart that she’d stopped when Cliche told her to earlier.
Sensing that vibe, Hamask glared at Hotse with wounded pride and growled.
“I’ve always picked the strongest opponents to fight. Know why?”
“……?”
“To collect these.”
Hamask swung her hand, opening a subspace. She began pulling things out from within.
“What’re those?”
Roin’s eyes widened at the objects emerging from the rift. In Hamask’s hands were five hearts! Each one different in size and color. They pulsed and throbbed like they were still alive.
“Heh heh heh heh……”
Hamask smirked bitterly down at Cliche.
“I love ripping out the hearts of the strong after beating them. Know why?”
“Why you keep,,, askin’ for,,, reasons~~ You know we don’t,,, know, it’s obvious~~”
Hamask ignored Hotse’s furrowed-brow grumbling.
“For this magic.”
Hamask placed the five hearts, brimming with potent mana, on the ground. Spotting them, Roin yelled urgently.
“Cliche! Get away! That’s the empire’s most forbidden dark magic, Reverse Pentagram!”
Reverse Pentagram! The taboo dark spell that appeared only once even in the great Midland Empire before being outright banned. It sacrificed five hearts from mana-rich beings to summon the infernal hellfire of the demon realm—raw and unfiltered. The higher the mana in the sacrifice hearts, the more devastating the power.
“Little miss knows her,,, stuff, eh~~”
Hotse muttered while patting Roin’s hair. Roin shouted again, exasperated.
“This isn’t the time to be chill! That’s seriously dangerous magic! We have to stop it before it activates……!”
But it was too late. Hamask sneered darkly at Roin.
“Not bad instincts, human girl. Doesn’t look like mountain-hick material.”
“…….”
“These hearts came from the ‘9th-ranked demon noble Cerberus Viscount,’ ‘Dungeon Boss Balrog from the demon realm’s depths,’ ‘Midland’s Mercenary King Nibelungen,’ ‘Sea Tyrant Kraken,’ ‘8th-circle Archmage Harlequin,’ and more. You lot are never getting out alive.”
Soon, the five hearts of varying sizes floated down from the sky, encircling Cliche.
“Thou redder than blood…… Thou blacker than shadow……”
As Hamask chanted, blood-red lines connected the five hearts into one.
“That’s~~ some cringey-ass incantation,,,”
Hotse wiggled her fingers dismissively, but the dark magic proceeded as planned. Pop pop pop! Suddenly, an inverted pentagram etched itself into the ground around Cliche.
“Ignite! Flames of Hell!”
A forbidden outer-path magic beyond circle classifications! The ultimate curse, shunned even among demons as horrific, descended upon the mortal plane!
“…….”
Despite the repulsive aura enveloping him, Cliche stood motionless, his expression unchanged. Seeing this, Hamask cackled sinisterly beneath her nearly shattered mask.
“This spell was prepped to kill the #1 demon realm overlord, the Great Demon King, and steal his throne. Didn’t plan on wasting it on you, but…… killing a monster like you makes it worthwhile. I’ll use your heart as fodder later!”
True to her Great Demon stature, Hamask bellowed with immense presence. But Cliche’s gaze on her remained strictly stern and serious.
And then.
The Reverse Pentagram activated. Grrrrumble! From the inverted pentagram’s maw, pitch-black flames erupted, engulfing Cliche.
“Gyahahahaha! Even the Great Demon King couldn’t escape!”
Hamask laughed maniacally at Cliche. It felt so damn satisfying. She’d finally crushed the incomprehensible monster. Or so she thought—until a pale hand tinged pink burst out from the Reverse Pentagram.
“Guh!?”
Hamask jolted back in shock, heart leaping to her throat. Pat pat—Cliche flailed his palm impatiently, like it was clogged. Boom! Something burst like a drum skin.
“…….”
It was too ridiculous to process. Hamask froze, mouth agape in horror. One of the hearts forming the flame wall had overloaded and exploded. First, the dungeon boss Balrog’s heart. Then……
Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!
The hearts of 9th-ranked Cerberus Viscount, Midland’s Mercenary King Nibelungen, Sea Tyrant Kraken, and 8th-circle Archmage Harlequin detonated one after another.
“N-No way! Those hearts from powerhouses I barely defeated!?”
Hamask knew bone-deep how mighty their original owners had been. Those hearts shouldn’t pop so pathetically. What the hell was this?
“Ngh—”
Finally, Cliche emerged unscathed from the fully dissipated Reverse Pentagram.
“Impossible! No way!”
Hamask rampaged in fury but didn’t charge in. She just hopped around at a safe distance.
“Heard demons all got ‘anger issues’~~ but you’re managin’ yours pretty good~~”
Hotse snickered from afar, inwardly patting herself for listening to Cliche earlier.
Right then, Cliche furrowed his brow slightly as he broke free from the Reverse Pentagram. He eyed the hopping Hamask.
“Looks like…… you need a proper scolding.”
“…….”
At those words, the frantic Hamask went still. The watching refugees froze too. A chill ran down her neck.
‘A little’ scolding meant a beatdown. Now it’s ‘properly’……
“U-Uuuugh! What’re you gonna do to me!? I won’t submit! I’m a Great Demon!”
Hamask spread her wings, baring sharp fangs. A race that thrived on destruction, slaughter, and battle! She’d die like a demon, at least.
But.
“Uh…… er……”
Her resolve crumbled fast. Cliche had spread both palms wide and begun unleashing real power.
Grrrrumble! Rumble rumble rumble!
Flames gathered in Cliche’s right hand—fierce enough to seem plucked from the sun itself, swirling into a terrifying vortex in his grip. The ground and rocks to his right didn’t just burn; they melted into lava, sucked toward his hand to form a raging lava storm. Flames themselves were devoured in the frenzy.
Meanwhile, frost gathered on his left, now pure white. Snow from the sky spiraled into it. A bone-numbing absolute zero chill that could freeze the world. The earth whitened, cracked, split into deep crevasses, and massive ice pillars erupted, linking ground and sky.
Everyone gaped.
The ‘inextinguishable fire’ Hamask unleashed, the ‘unmelting ice’ that trapped Hotse—they were child’s play before this elemental maelstrom Cliche conjured. A true one-man army! Power to end the world solo!
“Mad,,, bastard’s power,,,”
Hotse gawked at the ice-and-fire storm, speechless.
“…….”
Even Hamask, battle-mad Great Demon, stared blankly, will to fight gone. The overwhelming elemental fury left even her dazed.
The villagers were the same. They’d given up fleeing, prostrating and praying. If that monstrous magic hit, nothing would remain.
Hero, 8th-circle mage, Sword Master, potion seller, weaponsmith, monster, random villager—no difference. Dead meat!
“C-Cliche!”
Roin threw herself in front of Cliche as he geared up.
“I get you’re mad, but…… if you fire that, everyone here dies! The land’ll be ruined!”
Her desperate plea made Cliche open his eyes.
“……!”
Roin’s heart skipped. Not because Cliche was handsome. His half-lidded pink eyes held the same stern, serious, cute gaze as ever.
Then, he spoke warmly to her.
“Don’t worry, Roin. No one’ll get hurt.”
His voice was soft and reassuring. Roin collapsed to her knees unwittingly. It oddly soothed the soul.
Then, Cliche stepped forward.
And something unbelievable happened.
Clap—he slammed his blazing right hand against his frozen left.
!?
Everyone recoiled, jaws dropped. The world’s hottest flame met its coldest ice in one spot. The column that could boil the heavens surged to his right hand. The blizzard that could ice-age the world rushed to his left.
As the twin cataclysms collided!
Flash—a radiant light storm blinded all. The blast engulfed every living thing here in a heartbeat.
“Uwaaaaaah!”
The refugees screamed as the gale hit.
…….
And.
“Aaaah……?”
Their screams turned to pleased sighs. Huh? They blinked wide, scanning around. Roin, Swain, Hotse, the refugees—even Hamask. All baffled.
Then, an impossible sight unfolded.
A perfect, cozy warmth. A gentle pink aura blanketed the mountain.
Pop—pop—tiny sounds echoed.
“L-Look at this!”
Roin pointed at the ground in shock. From the scorched, ashy earth, tender green sprouts poked through. And a soft pink breeze from afar soothed hearts weary from fire and fight.
Unexpectedly.
Spring had come to the mountain.