Blue Lightning, Red Flames (3)
Yushin placed his remaining hand on the hilt, gripping the Lightning Sword with both now. He moved slowly.
Leisure vanished from Sabnack's face, replaced by bewilderment and shock. How could a human move with a hole punched through his chest? It was a fatal wound—no, instant death. Even keeling over right then wouldn't have been surprising. Sabnack was certain she'd pierced the heart of the Diablo Slayer.
'A human moving even with his heart shattered...!'
Crunch! The blade of the Lightning Sword, which had sliced halfway through Sabnack's neck, began to move. Slowly, inch by inch. Like a grim reaper come to declare death, it steadily closed in to sever her breath.
Stunned by Yushin's continued assault despite his shattered heart, Sabnack yanked back the scrap-iron sword embedded in his chest and hurriedly pulled away to create distance.
"Cough! Cough!"
Sabnack spat blood-mixed coughs repeatedly, vomiting blood several times over. She clutched her neck. The mark of the forcible tear was vivid. She'd sacrificed flesh and bone to end the Diablo Slayer's life. But the outcome was the opposite.
She hadn't anticipated that the Diablo Slayer would press the attack even with his heart destroyed. She'd nearly faced the reverse situation.
"What're you staring at? First time seeing a guy move fine with a busted heart?"
Yushin moved. But he wasn't completely unscathed—his body showed slight stiffness. Ten seconds until heart repair. The dragon armor, now fully fused with Yushin, regenerated all near-fatal wounds. Even if his heart was ripped apart, even if he took wounds close to death.
Its bizarre regenerative power "stitched" death shut.
"No matter how otherworldly, basic physical limits should be human-like. Is it that armor's power? A bio-armor forged from dragon muscle and bone... to think it held such strength."
"To kill the immortal, you must become immortal yourself. Words from the smith who forged this armor."
"A weapon made to slay a Demon King... Impressive."
Sabnack's eyes gleamed at Yushin's explanation, revealing raw greed sparked by fascination. A power that restored even a shattered heart. An ability turning frail humans—weak compared to other races—immortal. Magnificent.
Sabnack admired it purely while coveting the dragon armor. It wasn't just the immortality that appealed. She reacted like a child to its sleek, fierce design evoking dragons.
'No, I felt him die. I don't know what trick he pulled, but he dodged death.'
The more she thought, the stranger it seemed. Sabnack glanced down at her sword-gripping hand, then lifted her head to stare at Yushin.
"Looks like we'll have to postpone the duel, Diablo Slayer."
No sooner had Sabnack spoken than Ardena, cloaked in deep green mana, lunged. She thrust her sword, striking at Sabnack.
Having confirmed Yushin's chest pierced by Sabnack's blow, she'd barged into the duel without warning. The one-on-one was off. Ardena's intrusion turned it into a two-on-one.
Sabnack, confident she could handle both at once, didn't retreat. Instead, she dropped her scrap-iron sword and rejoiced.
"Demon King!!!"
The blue-haired knightess bulldozed through blocking elves to crash the duel. She hefted her massive sword high. Then slammed it down at Sabnack, unleashing a massive shockwave.
Boom rumble rumble crash!
The ground beneath Sabnack's feet cratered. Like a giant stomping with full force. Her face twisted—this blow she couldn't brush off lightly.
"Coming at me one by one, huh... Two's manageable, but three might be a real workout."
Don't you guys have any honor?! A regular demon might've protested the unfair numbers. But Sabnack was different. Demon Kings were enemies of the world. They always faced hordes. Accepting that, she raised her sword without complaint even as Ardena and Allen joined in. As if she'd humbly accept defeat if it came.
"Oppa, this the Demon King?"
"Yeah."
"Let's finish her quick and head back."
"I need to land the finishing blow. So make an opening."
"Got it."
Yushin, Allen, and Ardena gripped their swords, facing off against Sabnack. At the same moment, the Demon King Army moved. Likely because the two knightesses had crashed the Diablo Slayer's duel.
They'd watched Sabnack take a hit from the Diablo Slayer. Seeing a human move unscathed with a pierced heart, her two retainers deemed it an "intolerable threat." Thus, they mobilized tens of thousands to trample the elves.
"Assemble beneath the banner... Soldiers of the Demon King Army who know no death."
The ghost cavalryman raised the cursed banner high. The curse blanketed the battlefield. But the ghost cavalryman's banner curse didn't target the elves.
It targeted the Demon King Army—her own forces. The curse's name: Those Who Know No Death. It stripped the terror of death from the afflicted troops.
"Brothers, I'll carve the path from the vanguard."
The evil spirit knight mounted his ghost horse sword in hand. Death Knights on ghost horses gathered to escort him. They lowered their sharp blades. Then spurred their mounts, charging as the ghost knight order surged forward.
The tens of thousands in the Demon King Army finally advanced. To protect their king. To slaughter every elf.
Under the curse's sway, demons and monsters with glowing red eyes howled madly and charged the elves.
* * *
When her neck nearly got severed, Sabnack felt death's threat. Then again from Allen's charging brawl. Suspicious.
Feeling mortal peril from the otherworlder Diablo Slayer was expected. But why from that blue-haired knightess too?
'She's a native human of this world. Untouchable by even an immortal blessed by the Demon God. So why does she reek of the same danger as the Diablo Slayer?'
Sabnack parried Yushin's Lightning Sword, countered Allen's Dragon Pursuer, then struck back at Ardena's blade, deep in thought. Unexpected events piled up. Too fast to react, defying predictions.
She didn't mind. Fights were always full of surprises. She welcomed any powerhouse gunning for her life. That's what duels were—trading lethal intents to claim lives.
"Realize that no matter how many bugs swarm, they're still bugs."
Sabnack extended a hand, manifesting crimson fireballs. The elves recoiled in shock. They'd nearly been wiped out by her massive AOE.
Blue lightning erupted from the ground, shattering every fireball. While Allen and Ardena pinned Sabnack, Yushin—who'd fallen back—annihilated them.
"Ahaha! First time fighting a Demon King!"
Allen's face twisted in madness as she swung her greatsword, closing in. No time for Sabnack to activate powers. Keep pressing to corner her.
But Sabnack didn't yield to Allen's stacked superhuman strength. She flowed with the force, countering with elegant, razor-sharp swordsmanship.
Even with both knightesses charging, they couldn't overwhelm Sabnack. Matching her evenly was their limit.
"You love charging like beasts. Blind to how it shortens your lifespan."
A bloody gash etched across Allen's body. From shoulder to gut—a deep sword mark. Hot blood poured from it. Fierce strikes always left openings. Sabnack wouldn't miss.
Deal with the ominous Allen first, then handle Yushin and Ardena.
"Kek! Krhat, kuhahaha!!"
Allen burst into wild laughter. Fatal wound. A diagonal slash across her torso. Deep, heavy bleeding. Yet she moved. The blue-haired knightess cackled madly, golden beast-eyes flashing. Crimson sclera rimming glowing gold eyes—enough to threaten a Demon King.
"I'll heal your wound."
Ardena extended a hand, channeling energy from her White Lily Scale to mend Allen. The gash regenerated in seconds. Instantly, Allen charged Sabnack like a runaway train.
"Tch!"
Sabnack clicked her tongue. Yushin rocketed from behind like a bullet. Blue lightning flashed. Sabnack blocked with her scrap-iron sword while checking Allen's renewed charge and Ardena's support—seamless offense and defense.
"She's a Demon King. You won't call it cowardly, right?"
Yushin asked. Sabnack chuckled.
"Don't get cocky, Diablo Slayer. Think I've used all my power? You'd be wrong. I'm not like that fool Agares."
Sabnack's red eyes darkened. To black. Her raging flames flickered black in response. But only briefly—they reverted to red. Likely deeming it too early for full power.
"Kill the elves!"
"Time to reclaim our homeland, our territory!"
Demons bellowed. Savage monsters leaped, fangs and claws menacing elf knights. The elves swung longswords wreathed in blue sword aura, cleaving monsters. They raised shields against demon magic, then slashed to decapitate foes.
"Battlefield's getting noisy. Duel's over. Diablo Slayer, let's rematch here in three days."
Sabnack repelled Allen and Ardena simultaneously, then swung her scrap-iron sword wide, unleashing a shockwave. The ground crumbled. Elves, demons, monsters—all caught in the collapse. Disaster struck the field.
A single swing caused mass slaughter. Proving she truly hadn't gone all-out, Sabnack slew hundreds instantly.
"But I can't leave empty-handed. A parting gift. Take it, Diablo Slayer."
Sabnack plunged her scrap-iron sword into the earth.
Vrrrroooom!!
Heat poured from the blade. The scorching waves swept the battlefield. Soon, flames erupted from fissures in the ground. Turning every inch of the front line into an inferno.
"Argh!"
"Urk, grraaah!"
Elf knights engulfed in flames rolled screaming. Rear-guard elf priests summoned water and ice. But magic couldn't quench Sabnack's blaze—only steam rose, no sign of dying down.
"Groooar!"
"Lord Sabnack's flames! Everyone fall back!"
Monsters wailed grotesquely, crumbling to ash. Demons too. Seeing the lava-like crimson blaze, they abandoned attacks and retreated. A Demon King's flames couldn't be extinguished without equal power. Not wanting a dog's death, demons cursed Sabnack's recklessness—it spared no one but her retainers.
"Next time, I'll bring 'lines' worthy of our duel."
Sabnack lifted her scrap-iron sword. Escorted by the arriving ghost cavalryman and evil spirit knight, she withdrew from the front.