Demon King Sabnack (2)
Hundreds of fireballs ravaged the earth in unison, turning the battlefield into ruins in an instant. Ardena and Bariteon unleashed all their power to counter Sabnack's massive area-of-effect spell, but they could only neutralize about half of the onslaught. The remaining fireballs scorched the ground, inflicting near-total annihilation on the elf knight order.
Death and terror. Destruction and violation. Under the assault of the crimson Demon King, the elves were forced to abandon all hope of victory and life.
"You resemble El Seed," Sabnack said.
Her gaze fell on Ardena, who was piecing together her half-shattered armor. The White Lily Scale regenerated near-infinite energy, mending her wounds. The glowing green sword infused her with vitality, canceling out all the damage inflicted upon her. Each time, El Seed's aura overflowed, shielding Ardena.
"That resolute calm without losing composure. Towering pride and shining honor, even the will to protect your kin... All of it reminds me of El Seed. You must be connected to her somehow."
Sabnack didn't seem eager to end it swiftly. She perched on a pile of rubble for a moment, waiting for Ardena to repair her wounds and regenerate her energy.
Ardena had expended tremendous power shielding the elf knight order from the hundreds of flaming meteors. She bit her lip hard at Sabnack's suggestion of a brief chat. The Demon King's leisurely demeanor filled her with humiliation.
"Why... with such overwhelming power, haven't you simply exterminated us?" Ardena asked.
Sabnack shrugged at the high elf knight captain's question.
"I know El Seed can't join the war due to the Covenant. If I'd pressed the advantage back then, I could've crushed your Elf Kingdom effortlessly."
Sabnack paused after speaking, then continued.
"But I granted you centuries. What do you think my reason was?"
She couldn't finish. The warrior captains charged in.
Elf warrior captains who had survived the inferno poured out their rage, swinging their blades with murderous intent.
"Sabnack!"
"How dare you, you bitch!"
They had lost countless comrades in the fiery pit. Grinding their teeth in fury, the elf warrior captains unleashed rage-fueled strikes.
Caught off-guard by the sudden ambush, Sabnack swiftly spun the jagged iron sword in her hand, parrying every blow from the warrior captains.
"I gave you centuries. Time to hone your strength and refine your skills. With El Seed sidelined by the Covenant, your Elf Kingdom could never defeat me anyway."
She had granted them a reprieve. An astonishing span of centuries.
She waited patiently as the elves grew stronger, mastered techniques, bore children, and built their nation. She let them pile up hope and construct a future, biding her time in silence.
For one reason alone.
To shatter the tower of hope they had erected with her own hands.
To strip away every ounce of hope they had desperately amassed over centuries.
That would be the ultimate revenge against El Seed.
"Yet in the end, no one arose who could rival her."
Sabnack raised her jagged iron sword high. The warrior captains who had ambushed her were already half-broken. Ardena, Bariteon, and the top captains still burned with fighting spirit, but the others were visibly exhausted, their fatigue plain to see. They had burned through so much stamina enduring the flaming inferno.
"The reprieve is over, elves."
Sabnack rose from her seat as she spoke.
* * *
Word spread that Sabnack was ravaging the battlefield. Chaos erupted in Maherith Palace.
The high elf nobles gathered to discuss countermeasures, but none emerged. They had mostly faced Sabnack's minions until now, never clashing directly with the Demon King herself.
No one knew how to fight or counter her.
"She's been silent ever since El Seed drove her from the southern continent..."
"What the hell has she been doing for centuries?! We should've prepared for a vengeful Demon King!"
"Prepare against an undying monster? You think we've just been sitting on our asses? There's no way to sever a Demon King's immortality!"
As the representatives of the Liberia Elf Kingdom exchanged fruitless words, guests from the Holy Empire arrived via the warp gate connected to the palace.
Elf knight captains, already notified, escorted the Holy Empire's visitors—led by High Priestess Ileina—from the warp gate to the reception hall where she awaited.
"Just as I expected, total pandemonium," Tanya Mainz, the imperial chamberlain, said to the stiff-faced High Priestess.
Ileina nodded. She felt immense responsibility for the crisis, her posture rigid with tension.
They should have prepared for Sabnack targeting the Elf Kingdom someday. But they had failed. Even reaching out to the Demon King Slayer right in front of them had fallen through.
Ileina's face was steeped in guilt, as if every failed policy stemmed from her.
"We did bring the armor used to subjugate Agares... but without a knight to wear it, it's useless."
Tanya nodded to the accompanying imperial knights. They set down something wrapped in black cloth.
Thud!!
It was heavy; the impact echoed deeply as it hit the floor. The knights, sweating profusely, wiped their brows and stepped back.
"Is that the armor?"
"Yes. It's been adorning the imperial treasury for ages. A magical artifact forged from the scales of a gold dragon said to have devoured a thousand lightning bolts."
Tanya personally unveiled the black cloth.
It was full-body plate armor. Contrary to the description, it gleamed dully like matte iron ore, utterly colorless and unremarkable. Only the Holy Empire's crest on the breastplate and cloak stood out. No mana emanated from it—not even the knights escorting Ileina could sense any power. It hardly seemed like the true armor of the Demon King Slayer.
"It was originally just an antique. Rare due to the gold dragon scales, but a worthless trinket that produced no power."
Tanya kindly explained, easing Ileina's doubts. To anyone else, she might've snapped, "Are you blind as a bat?!" But this silver-haired elf was the leader of the Liberia Elf Kingdom, so her tone remained polite—respectful speech reserved for the emperor or crown prince.
The Holy Knights exchanged meaningful glances at her refined etiquette.
"But Yushin Gilliard isn't in the Elf Kingdom. We're grateful for the support, but the Demon King Slayer won't return."
"He will come."
Tanya shrugged at Ileina's words, her tone brimming with unwavering certainty—bold enough to declare it before the High Priestess herself.
"Despite fierce opposition and scorn from the arrogant, foolish imperial nobles, Yushin Gilliard raised his sword against the Tyranny Demon King. He may deny it, but he bears the stature of a hero. Only a hero would challenge such an impossible feat."
And he succeeded. Subjugating Agares ended centuries of tyranny. When news spread, demons suffering under the tyrant—including imperial knights—hailed the Demon King Slayer's legendary deed.
"But Demon Kings are monstrously strong. Especially Sabnack, who's been grinding her teeth in revenge for centuries. Even if Yushin Gilliard comes, can he really defeat her? I'm not confident..."
"Having confidence against a Demon King is folly in itself. It's precisely because it's uncertain—riddled with unknowns and peril—that slaying one is called a great feat or legend."
Tanya Mainz had come to the Liberia Elf Kingdom to deliver the armor to Yushin. And to relay a message.
'Return borrowed items.'
A cliché phrase. But it meant return the armor to the Holy Empire—come back alive. That was the blunt chamberlain's hidden sincerity.
With the Elf Kingdom on the brink of annihilation by Sabnack at any moment, she had come personally to Maherith Palace to tell him face-to-face.
"Chamberlain."
An imperial knight approached and bowed to Tanya, urging her on. No telling when Sabnack, rampaging on the front lines, might strike Maherith. From the knights' perspective, they wanted their chamberlain back through the warp gate to the Holy Empire ASAP.
The Liberia Elf Kingdom was an ally, but Tanya's safety came first.
"The front lines haven't collapsed yet. Quit rushing me, you fucking idiot."
Tanya growled thickly at the prodding knight. He nodded, retreating with an oddly enlightened expression.
Ileina wondered if he'd baited her on purpose, but shook her head. No guy in the world enjoys getting cussed out by a woman.
"By chance... did the imperial family promise any reward to Yushin Gilliard for slaying the Demon King?"
Ileina asked. Tanya scoffed at the question.
"No reward could sway him. The bastard turned down every imperial offer and went back to Valua Kingdom. He did ask us to keep his identity secret to the end, though. No idea why."
As the High Priestess and imperial chamberlain shared grave words in the reception hall, a knight captain approached from outside.
Urgent business—she reported immediately to Ileina, mid-conversation with the Holy Empire's honored guest.
"High Priestess, Maherith is under attack by monsters right now. Or... well, 'attack' might not be the word, but monsters are assaulting the city anyway."
"What does that mean?"
What nonsense was this? Ileina frowned at the knight captain's disjointed report.
"Monsters... countless ones are plummeting from the sky, crashing to the ground."
Splat! Crunch! Splatter!
In Maherith, grotesque sounds of fleshy masses bursting on impact echoed. Deep in the palace's reception hall, they hadn't noticed yet. But the citizens were screaming at the merciless monster downpour from above.