“Harumael?!”
Yurinel, the chosen hero, made a strange expression as she looked at the woman who had deflected her sword. Why had this woman appeared here now? Could it be that Harumael had joined hands with the Underground Castle of Flesh?
“This is the first time you’ve seen me like this. Yes, I am Harumael.”
Like a venomous snake filled with poison, the Demon Killer shot from behind. Harumael lightly dodged and leaped away from them. The expressions of the Hero Party turned strange as they watched her, who only smiled and did not attack. What was this woman plotting?
Had she not come to fight? Was the Demon Emperor, of all people, leaving the Imperial Palace just to have a chat with them? If Harumael was the type to waste time like that, she would never have built her own empire. The Hero Party did not underestimate Harumael.
“Why don’t you bow and kneel? Your Majesty, perhaps?”
“Enough with the pointless provocations. If you’re here, get to the point.”
Lucia retorted, letting her whip hang loose.
“If you want to fight, we’ll fight. If you came to talk, we’ll listen. If you want to make a request, we’ll hear it. Your Majesty, may we dare to ask? Is it permissible for us to wrap your neck with this whip and snap it?”
“Such insolent fools. But you won’t have much time left to act so arrogantly.”
Harumael laughed it off. In the end, power comes from strength.
The Hero Party had the strength to back up their arrogance, so it didn’t bother her. If they were just weaklings, she would have crushed them already.
“The day will come when all of you will bow your heads before me and beg, ‘Your Majesty, please spare our lives.’”
“I acknowledge your strength. None of us can defeat you alone.”
Parnell scoffed. Harumael coming here alone was both a crisis and an opportunity. The Hero Party had the strength to seize that opportunity—more than enough, in fact.
“But we are not alone, and you are. You must have had strong allies to bring with you, so why come alone? Did we seem that easy to you?”
If Harumael had brought the strong warriors of the Demon World, it would have been a different story. But now that she was alone, the Hero Party had no intention of avoiding a fight. It wasn’t a battle they couldn’t win, and the stage was set in their favor.
What is a hero? At their core, they are assassins.
Though their assassinations often involve killing all witnesses, their original purpose is to eliminate key figures of the demon race and escape. If they could kill Harumael, the Demon Emperor, the demon race would fall into chaos, with countless factions vying for power, and they would no longer be a threat to anyone. The continent would return to peace, and all of it would be credited to the Hero Party, certified by the Saintess.
Why would the Hero Party pass up such an incredible opportunity? Even if Harumael had come to talk, they would draw their swords first and ask questions later.
Even Reinhaim and Araidel, whose bodies were in terrible condition from the poison, remained silent. Their thoughts were simple: even if they died, as long as Harumael was killed, it would be a far better situation for the goddess.
Gulp.
Reinhaim, prepared to risk her life, took what might have been her last sip of water and nearly spat it out. The moment the water touched her lips, the lingering metallic taste was replaced by a refreshing, cool, and even sweet flavor.
As the sensation returned to her tongue, gums, and mouth, Reinhaim’s expression changed completely. She finally realized that this water had been drawn from the Spring of Revival, and her face twitched.
The spring, which had lost its connection to Kyle, had eventually dried up and disappeared, but the last few bottles of holy water drawn from it had saved her from Hydra’s Venom. Without a second thought, Reinhaim approached the Saintess and pressed the bottle to her lips.
“W-what is this? What are you trying to feed me… Mmmph!”
The Archbishop, who was like an older sister to her, was someone the Saintess trusted and relied on the most. She couldn’t resist and had no choice but to drink. But once she did, she immediately understood why Reinhaim had done it.
A refreshing energy enveloped her body, dispelling all negative effects.
She drank faster and faster, eventually emptying the bottle. It was as if the water had swept away the dust in her mind, clearing her thoughts and refreshing her body.
“This water was drawn from the spring created by that priest, Kyle, who was with the Hero Party.”
Reinhaim whispered to the Saintess, who was now looking dazed.
At the same time, her eyes were fixed on Harumael, who was engaged in a verbal battle with the Hero Party.
“That priest could even cure Hydra’s Venom! I can’t believe the fools in charge of him in the Church Country didn’t see his true potential.”
If they returned alive to the Church Country, the list of people to reprimand would grow.
Kyle had come to the Church Country on his own, but none of the many priests of the Three God Faith had recognized his true worth. So he had walked away, and now his whereabouts were unknown.
At the time, those who had evaluated Kyle had concluded that he was just another follower of a minor deity, so the Church Country had done nothing while he came and went on his own.
It was only later that they realized they had let a great figure slip through their fingers, but now no one knew where Priest Kyle was or what he was doing. Or, to be precise, it was too late.
“Saintess. According to the last information I received, that priest was last seen in the small imperial city of Larpentia. But now he has left there as well, and his whereabouts are unknown.”
“Why are you telling me this?”
“There’s a possibility that Harumael still has Hydra’s Venom.”
That strangely relaxed attitude. The confidence with which she had appeared here alone.
Reinhaim couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. Harumael’s confidence had to have a reason.
“If you are poisoned again, start from Larpentia and trace his steps. Now that we know that priest of the Ancient God can cure Hydra’s Venom, and Harumael has somehow obtained it, we need him more than ever.”
Of course, Harumael had her reasons, and Hydra’s Venom was part of the source of her confidence.
But what she truly believed in was not the Underground Castle of Flesh, nor Hydra’s Venom, nor even her own strength. Harumael tightened her grip on the orb in her left hand and shattered it.
“Sorry, but I’m not the one who will cross swords with you.”
A black beam of light shot into the sky from the shattered orb. What it contained was a type of magical power too different to be called mere magic. As the magical power surged, dark clouds gathered in the sky, forming a massive gate that opened wide.
Before anyone could react, a blazing fireball fell from the gate.
“Shall I introduce you? The protagonist of this stage is not me… What is that?!”
Even Harumael was shocked. Could that be Grimudo?
Another sun appeared in the sky, obscured by black clouds. The blazing sun heated the world hotter than midday, withering leaves and drying up plants.
As it descended, it grew larger and larger. What had looked like a sun became the size of a coin, then a house, and finally as large as a palace.
When the burning wheel, or perhaps a sphere, touched the ground, a shockwave struck the world, and nearly eight thousand corpse soldiers turned to charcoal and vanished. Albatross couldn’t even muster anger this time.
“W-what is this? Is this the end of the world? Is today the day of reckoning…?”
The overwhelming power was far beyond anything he could imagine, closer to a natural disaster. It was like getting angry at a volcano for erupting.
Through the thick smoke and heat, a terrifying scene unfolded as a burning bird stretched its neck. Lucia Western screamed when she saw it.
“The Undead Creature, Phoenix!”
Grimudo’s monster army.
Among them, without a doubt, the strongest existence.
The leader of the monsters, who should be called the King of Monsters, slowly emerged through the dust. It was the creature that had curled its body into a red sphere and fallen.
Lucia trembled as she looked at the burning bird. She turned her head sharply to glare at Harumael and spewed venom. That bird was the harbinger of destruction that had come for the Western Family on the day of their downfall.
“Are you insane…? Are you trying to kill us all? Do you even know what you’ve done? Grimudo is not someone we can control or use!”
But no answer came.
Sizzle.
Whoosh.
The burning earth gradually cooled. The fires around them extinguished themselves.
Everything that survived instinctively looked up at the gate that had not closed.
Mouths shut on their own, and bodies trembled. Darkness spread, covering everything, and a silent stillness descended.
Even the rational Reinhaim’s face was filled with fear. The Saintess, Araidel, shed a tear.
Not out of fear, nor because she wanted to cry.
‘Too… too strong. Perhaps even stronger than Mother…’
As the Saintess, who could directly meet the goddess, she was filled with despair.
The Saintess, who had thought the goddess’s dignity and status were unparalleled in the world, now saw and felt the existence that was only spoken of in legends. The moment she felt that endless power, her heart died.
‘Is this… the Demon King? This is more like…’
Even Reinhaim, who should have comforted her, couldn’t say a word. From the dark gate, something wrapped in flames darker than darkness itself emerged.
The Phoenix, seeing its master, let out a clear cry from its beak, welcoming it. It waved its hand in response, and a gale swept through the area.
The magical power of that being was so intense that even the slightest movement rearranged the surrounding magic. Harumael’s hand, holding the shattered orb, trembled. Only then did she realize that Grimudo had been watching her—and had been doing so for a long time.
That being didn’t need a Petrification Monster or a Cockatrice to kill her.
A single finger would suffice. Harumael couldn’t speak and stood frozen, as if dead.
“Gri… Grimudo.”
After a long while, the hero barely managed to utter its name.
Her voice trembled. But was it just her voice?
Even the hand holding the sword shook uncontrollably. A nightmare she never wanted to see again had arrived.
The Primal Demon King had descended upon this place.
