The Demon King's Grasp
The man who had withstood that blow and remained unscathed did not exist. “Y-You…!” The unexpected hand of salvation left Elisa feeling instinctive relief and surprise. Watching her, the hero—clad in the black armor and wielding the greatsword bestowed upon him by the Demon King—spoke in a voice laced with faint excitement.
“I’ll handle this place. You use the opening to escape.”
“B-But…”
“In your injured state, you’d only get in the way. I cleared the eastern path on my way here, so you should be able to slip away easily if you head that direction.”
“…”
The hero’s words—that he had already secured an escape route on his way to this place—left Elisa momentarily speechless. She remained silent for a brief moment. Then…
“Th-Thank… mm…”
She began to say something, only to cut herself off mid-sentence before fleeing exactly in the direction the hero had indicated. The moment the purple-helmeted warrior, whose expression remained hidden, completely vanished from the area… he—the man who had been called the hero of humanity only a few weeks ago—slowly swept his gaze across everyone gathered here and spoke.
“Well then… who among you will face me?”
Cassandra Incliment. One of the three greatest generals of the Falcon Empire, she had almost never felt the emotion known as fear in all her years of life. Even when she had coincidentally crossed blades with a demon race executive in the past, she had simply swung her spear and shield in the ecstasy of battle as a warrior. She had not carried even a shred of fear.
However… at this very moment, Cassandra began to be seized by terror for the first time since she had taken up the title of general and a sword.
“Th-That thing… just what… is it..?”
The jet-black warrior gripping a massive black greatsword before her eyes. An existence radiating an ominous and utterly horrifying presence, as if it had crawled out from the abyss itself. The instant she witnessed that figure blocking their path right before they could execute the demon race executive, Cassandra felt her entire body freeze over. Her hands began to tremble uncontrollably on instinct.
An overwhelming aura of power. Simply looking at it was enough to make her heart feel as if it were being crushed. Her instincts were screaming one clear truth.
She would die. If she tried to fight that thing, she would undoubtedly die. It was not some theoretical notion, but pure survival instinct delivering the message. As she stared at the being that could instill such a sensation in even one of the Empire’s strongest, a single figure automatically rose in Cassandra’s mind.
‘N-No way… could that be… could that actually be the Demon King…?’
It looked slightly different from what she had heard, but at this moment, the only being that came to Cassandra’s mind was that one. An absolute powerhouse possessing strength capable of overwhelming even her. The strongest military asset of the demon race, the individual keeping this war—which everyone believed could surely be won—from ending. The moment she realized that supreme monster now stood before her, Cassandra desperately struggled to regain her composure.
‘C-Calm down… There’s no doubt the one before me is a formidable enemy. But… if the opponent really is the Demon King, this might actually be a golden opportunity…’
The enemy’s leader and greatest force stood right in front of her. Although she was being unilaterally crushed by the sheer pressure of the aura she felt, if fortune smiled on her in this very instant… Cassandra began to think that she might be able to end this long war with her own two hands.
‘Certainly… I have no chance of victory against that thing alone. But… if I have the strength of that beastkin warrior, perhaps a possibility exists.’
The beastkin female warrior who had just moments ago overwhelmed the demon race assailants in the blink of an eye, displaying her power. Of course she was a brawler who used fists and claws, while Cassandra was a holy knight who wielded sword, shield, and the power of light, so a direct comparison was somewhat unreasonable. Still, overall, Cassandra judged that the beastkin warrior and herself possessed roughly equal skill.
Even so, the ‘Demon King’s’ power was terrifying. Yet in this situation where capturing the enemy’s leader would end everything, Cassandra believed it was a gamble worth taking. As a warrior… and as a general of the Empire. A once-in-a-lifetime gamble that would stake her very life.
‘Alright… then…’
Having made up her mind, Cassandra slowly channeled mana into the ring on her finger. A brilliant green light immediately burst forth from the ring. At the same time, the shackle around the neck of the beastkin warrior—who had been hesitating while looking at the ‘Demon King’—began to glow as well. The tension and anxiety on the beastkin warrior’s face instantly transformed into hostility and rage toward the Demon King before her eyes.
‘It’s only natural to feel fear when the opponent is the Demon King who killed the hero and defeated us… But with the Shackle of Control, such emotions can be swept away effortlessly.’
The Shackle of Control—an item placed on slaves to erase their ego and turn them into berserkers who obeyed orders and slaughtered enemies. Linked to the ring on her hand, it was an extremely precious artifact that even Cassandra had only managed to obtain one of, but its performance was unquestionable.
“All of you, keep your distance and maintain the encirclement. I and my slave will take care of that one.”
“Yes, General Cassandra!”
Against an opponent of that caliber, ordinary soldiers would be sent flying helplessly with a single swing of the sword. Having finished preparations for her ‘gamble’ while minimizing casualties, Cassandra watched as the Demon King, in response, firmly gripped the greatsword overflowing with purple energy and assumed an attacking stance toward her.
At the same time, a heavy silence descended over the entire area… Within it, Cassandra raised her shield with a cold expression, facing forward.
‘The longer the fight drags on, the more disadvantageous it becomes. Moreover, that thing clearly knows it is overwhelmingly stronger than me. Even if it stays alert, it will inevitably let its guard down to some degree. That is the only opening I can aim for.’
And then…
“Haaaaaaaah!!!!”
With a battle cry, Cassandra charged forward with her shield raised. The Demon King gripped its greatsword and prepared to meet the attack head-on.
‘Shield of God! No one has ever remained unscathed after taking this hit. No matter if it’s the Demon King…!’
And then—
Shield of God
The ultimate strike carrying divine power. A blow that has sent countless demons to hell. Even a demon executive once suffered a critical wound and was forced to retreat.
-KWAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!
An enormous explosion rang out in an instant. The shock, as if a grand mage’s attack spell had been unleashed, shook the entire area. The soldiers maintaining the encirclement lost their balance and collapsed on the spot.
“Th-This…”
“Just the shockwave alone is this powerful…”
“Wh-What about the General? What happened to General Cassandra…?”
The soldiers, unable to regain their senses amid the cloud of dust that had engulfed the area. However, at this moment, the one who had caused the explosion—Cassandra herself—could not pull herself together any better than the fallen soldiers.
“Kuh…!”
Her ultimate strike, delivered with all her might. The Shield of God, an attack that combined her divine power with a shield imbued with the gods’ strength, had sent numerous demons to their graves. Even the demon executive she had faced before had been forced to retreat after taking a critical wound from it.
Cassandra had unleashed her strongest possible opening move. However… every expectation and pride she had placed in this strike was instantly overturned by despair and shock.
-Greeeeeeeee…
A horrifying metallic screech accompanied the sight before her eyes. It was the image of the Demon King blocking her all-out attack with nothing but the greatsword held in a single hand.
A scene that made one feel an overwhelming difference in power, like a father gently stopping a child’s prank. Yet the despair on Cassandra’s face in this moment was not caused by that alone.
Another move Cassandra had prepared at the same time she launched her strongest strike at the Demon King. “Kuh… ugh…” It was the beastkin warrior, who had attempted a pincer attack from both sides while the Demon King’s attention was focused on Cassandra, now having her throat seized in an instant and letting out a pained groan.
Their all-out surprise attack had been futilely blocked. As she witnessed the scene that made it painfully clear the being known as the Demon King was far beyond anything they had imagined, Cassandra immediately began to regret her reckless gamble.
And looking at her, the Demon King spoke in a calm yet chilling voice.
“Got you.”