The NTR Hero Knelt Before the Demon King – Chapter 153

After beheading the enemy commander, Helene retreats with Eliza.

However, unlike Eliza, who was unfamiliar with the terrain here, Helene, as a former soldier of the Empire, was relatively well-acquainted with the surrounding geography.

She knew exactly what was where and what would come next if they continued like this.

‘Alright. We’ve arrived.’

Thus, Helene led Eliza to their intended destination.

This place was quite distant from both the allied lines and the Magic Kingdom’s stronghold.

Due to the nature of the valley, it was an impossible location for escape, surrounded on all sides.

“Supreme Commander Helene, where are we? It seems we’re far from our allies…”

Eliza spoke with a suspicious tone, as if something was amiss.

In response, Helene thought to herself that the pretty-faced woman was painfully slow on the uptake, and slowly drew the sword that hung at her waist.

“…Supreme Commander?”

“I’m sorry, Eliza, but you need to die here.”

“W… what? What do you mean all of a sudden…?”

Eliza’s face showed confusion—or rather, a sense of incredulity—at Helene’s unexpected declaration.

From her perspective, it was perfectly understandable that she couldn’t comprehend Helene’s sudden intent to kill her.

And in response,

Helene flashed a cold smile and said to her:

“You don’t need to know the details. What you need to understand is that you’re dying here. That’s all.”

With those words, Helene began to pour magic power into her sword while a magic circle started to form around her.

With a heartfelt intent to kill in her demeanor, Eliza frowned and immediately began to react.

It was clear she had no intention of going down without a fight.

Yet, even while observing Eliza’s determined stance, Helene felt no sense of danger whatsoever.

‘The opponent is quite strong, but compared to the Demon King, they’re woefully inadequate; as the Empire’s strongest warrior, there’s no reason I shouldn’t win.’

Helene was someone who had made even Achilles kneel before her, and in terms of one-on-one combat, there had been no one in the Empire who could defeat her.

While she had heard stories about the former hero, Ellen, being quite strong, she had never faced him, so she wasn’t certain.

Anyway, from this perspective, Helene was confident in her victory, and considering the combat power emanating from Eliza at that moment, they had no chance of winning.

“Let’s not drag this out, I’ll finish this in one move.”

With those words, Helene began to unleash a fearsome amount of magic power.

The overwhelming magic that would make even ordinary people feel nauseous flowed into the magic circle she had created, activating the intended spell within.

The magic circle, exuding a foreboding black light, started to spin slowly.

And a moment later, as the magic power charged,

black auras emanating a chilling presence began to gather in the magic circles floating all around.

And then.

“!!”

In the next moment, the black auras surged toward Eliza.

Those that bore resemblance to arrows surged forth with a force that could not simply be dismissed as a mere person’s magic, targeting only the spot where Eliza stood.

With a speed and volume that rendered defense impossible, the black auras began to rain down.

Although they looked like arrows, their momentum was reminiscent of a raging current, and as the waves of black energy slammed down, clear shock lit up Eliza’s face.

And then…

-KABOOM!!!

With a tremendous crash that felt like total annihilation, the black auras struck the spot where Eliza had been.

Seeing this, a cold smile spread across Helene’s lips instinctively.

‘It’s over.’

Up until now, Helene had defeated numerous suitors with her magic.

While each individual black aura didn’t possess that much strength, the overwhelming quantity based on her superior magical power meant that no one in the Empire had ever been able to withstand such an attack.

Moreover, given the circumstances, there was an extra layer of sincerity infused into her magic fueled by the frustration over her recent breakup.

Helene was certain that the demon girl before her had just met her end.

But then…

“Hmm?”

“…”

As the dust settled, a scene slowly revealed itself.

To her surprise, Helene’s face was automatically filled with disbelief.

“What… what’s that?”

Helene had expected to see Eliza’s corpse.

However, instead, her eyes beheld a sight she could not comprehend.

Eliza was defending against the frenzied onslaught of black auras.

The moment she realized what was blocking the powerful auras that could change the very nature of the terrain, Helene felt a sense of shock wash over her.

‘T…that shadow? Is that her power?… But how could she possibly…?’

High-ranking demons usually concealed their true identity beneath armor and didn’t know much about the abilities of their opponents.

While they could gauge combat power at face value, they couldn’t rely on any certainty regarding their abilities.

In that regard, witnessing the shadow magic effortlessly block her deadly attack, which had turned countless enemies into Swiss cheese, struck Helene like a heavy blow.

‘Tch, is this truly the Demon King’s partner? She’s more troublesome than I anticipated.’

Helene had planned to finish this in a single blow, and for a moment, she was caught off-guard by the shocking development, but quickly gathered her thoughts and tightened her grip around her sword.

‘That shadow magic… is it some kind of shield? I’m not exactly sure, but it seems if it blocks my attacks, my magic won’t work anymore. In that case…’

If magic was ineffective, there was only one option left.

Reaching that conclusion, Helene gazed at Eliza, who was surrounded by the writhing shadows at her feet.

And then.

-THWACK!

Helene kicked off the ground, launching herself toward Eliza at a terrifying speed.

Even though her primary attack had been sealed, she still retained her title as the Empire’s strongest warrior, and in a flash, she closed the distance between herself and Eliza.

However.

“Ugh!”

-CLANG!

In the next moment, Eliza’s shadow shot toward her from the side.

Not merely a simple shield, but an actual strike packed with destructive power—Helene instinctively sensed the danger and attempted to block it.

‘W-what is this? Fast? And… strong?’

Even she found it hard to keep up with the speed and strength.

What was supposed to be a mere shadow took the form of a black blade, soaring toward Helene like a flurry of deadly blades, reversing their previous roles.

“Damn it!”

With attacks closing in from all sides, Helene desperately swung her sword.

However, her blade, infused with magic and capable of cutting through steel, merely deflected the incoming shadows without being able to slice through them.

Endless attacks surged toward her at a terrifying speed.

All she could do was defend; targeting the original body was an impossible task under the current circumstances.

Helene gradually fell deeper into chaos and confusion, finding herself in a situation that diverged significantly from her initial expectations.

‘W-what the hell… what is happening? Am I… mistaking my opponent? N-No, that can’t be it. Even now, the power I feel from that woman isn’t at my level, so why…?’

Thus, the Empire’s strongest warrior became helpless, caught in a defensive position, unable to make a single move.

Meanwhile,

Watching her, Eliza let out a deep sigh of relief in her heart.

‘Thank goodness… I really got lucky.’

On the surface, it looked like Eliza was overwhelming Helene.

However, at this very moment, the power Eliza was using was not her own.

Helene, who possessed the strength to easily win against Eliza, was now facing an Eliza who wouldn’t even stand a chance against her normally.

However, the attack from Helene a moment ago…

For Eliza, the torrent of black energy that had made her think she was about to die offered entirely unexpected results.

Helene’s magic clearly operated on a foundation of dark-dimensional power.

While it could unleash an overwhelming destructive force, it technically ranked lower than Eliza’s shadow magic.

And according to the rules of their inherent properties, Helene’s magic wouldn’t strike against Eliza’s shadow magic; rather, it would be absorbed by it.

As a result of this phenomenon, Helene was now in the awkward position of being struck by her own attack that she had launched at Eliza just moments ago, thus giving Eliza an unexpected advantage against an opponent she should have easily overwhelmed.

‘Indeed, being good and living a virtuous life reaps rewards. I may have no luck when it comes to romance, but thankfully, my luck doesn’t run out in battles like this.’