Chapter 49

The next moment, Jeffriel let out a slightly surprised sound.

——The lightning magic had indeed been released.

But what it struck was an empty patch of ground.

And the royals who had just been standing on the ground before him were now dozens of meters away.

No…

It wasn’t that they had shifted positions.

Was it that I was hit by some kind of force and displaced from my original spot…?

Jeffriel first shook the sleeve of his red robe, where the spot that had been struck was now billowing thick black smoke.

Yet with just a couple of shakes, the smoke dispersed as if there had never been any issue at all, and not a single thread of fabric was burned.

Only then did Jeffriel raise his head to look toward the sky where he had originally been floating.

There stood a tall, burly blond man holding a greatsword.

His gaze was equally cold, reflecting Jeffriel’s six wings in his deep blue eyes, without a hint of wavering.

He took a deep breath, rested the greatsword on his shoulder, and pointed its sharp tip at Jeffriel’s face, where a chilling gleam flickered.

This time, Jeffriel’s reaction was different from before—he genuinely shook his head in admiration!

“Ho… the Human Kingdom truly is full of talent… This is the Human’s Tier Ten…? No… none of the Tier Tens recorded in history possessed such presence. My friend, might you give me your name?”

“Eclight.”

“Hahahaha…!! I’ve heard of you! I’ve heard of you! This old man has heard of you…! Eclight… the Sword of the Nation! Come, come, let this old man see the true reason why my Demon warriors have failed to break through!”

There was no need for further words.

Where Eclight had been standing was now like a fading illusion, while the man himself had already, in an instant, raised his greatsword and closed in on the old man.

Jeffriel still did not move. The lightning swirling around him transformed into blades, striking at Eclight from all directions just as he approached.

Eclight’s heart sank. So this was the same technique used to attack Nona Wright earlier…

Though the Head of the Wright Family had a tall and robust build, his movements were as agile as a swimming dragon.

His eyes swiftly tracked the flow of the lightning currents, and with minute movements mid-air, he managed to dodge nearly all of the lightning streams with remarkable precision.

Of course, the lightning web was too dense for him to evade entirely.

Since it couldn’t be fully avoided…

——then he would endure it head-on.

His tough skin split open with tiny bursts of blood. Yet his body, tempered to its peak, allowed no current to pierce through the hardened muscles. At the same time, his greatsword, raised high, seemed to break the sound barrier as it swept down toward the old man with a terrifying shockwave!

Even Jeffriel showed a hint of surprise on his face.

The people on the ground all thought that Eclight was about to cut down the Six-Winged Demon with this single strike.

However…

Jeffriel’s six wings folded together to shield his body. The heavy greatsword struck against them with a dull thud, yet it failed to move the old man even the slightest bit.

Now it was Eclight’s turn to reveal a surprised expression.

And in the very next second, he was sent flying backward like a kite with its string cut.

【Hurricane】

Centered around Jeffriel, four terrifying tornadoes rose and circled around him.

【Flames】

The tornadoes caught fire, transforming into four flaming dragons spiraling through the air.

From the ground’s perspective, this scene could only be described as a natural disaster…

To those below, the four flaming dragons appeared to be roaring and surging. Even at such a distance, the heat made the ground unbearably scorching. The Kingdom’s Knight Order each deployed 【Water Curtain】 to shield the nobles from this deadly threat.

Facing the oncoming dragons, Eclight gritted his teeth and raised his greatsword to meet them.

With exceptional swordsmanship, he managed to sever the head of one flaming dragon. But the dragon, being lifeless to begin with, swiftly regenerated, returning even more imposing than before.

And Eclight glanced at his greatsword… one corner of it had already melted from the intense flames.

“So this is a Six-Winged Demon…”

“The battle is decided,” Jeffriel said calmly. “No one else can interfere in our fight. You needn’t expect any reinforcements.” The fire dragons swirled tightly around Jeffriel, reflecting their flames onto his six wings, making them shine like the infernos of hell. “Eclight, this old man admires you. You still possess the potential to grow stronger. Your life need not end here. Go now. Persuade your king to surrender our Demon Clan Princess. If so, I shall let you all leave. If not, you will all die.”

As if in response to Jeffriel’s words—

the four flaming dragons suddenly split in mid-air, becoming eight denser flaming dragons, entwined with tornadoes as they soared, evoking utter despair.

Yet, in the face of such a scene…

Eclight merely let out a cold chuckle.

He rolled his neck, channeled magic through his fingertips, and lightly tapped the damaged blade of his greatsword.

——Just like the flaming dragon that had been severed and then restored moments ago, Eclight’s blade was now once again perfectly whole.

“The arrogance of the strong always seeks to triumph head-on. Elder, allow this junior to teach you one more lesson today: in battle, always watch your back.”

“?!”

The instant Eclight’s words fell—

was the exact moment the Holy Sword’s radiance slashed down.

A golden arc of sword light came roaring through. Just as Jeffriel turned his head, the sword light bypassed the surrounding dragons from the side and struck with dazzling brilliance against the black wings he had hastily moved to shield himself.

A tremendous impact shook the heavens and the earth. Hero Xiarette, who had timed her approach perfectly, drove the Holy Sword’s power forward with a fierce shout, forcing Jeffriel to retreat hundreds of paces through the air!

“And here is one more lesson.” Eclight leapt to a position opposite Xiarette. The father and daughter now encircled Jeffriel, making him their center. “When we Humans say ‘watch your back,’ it will never be your back that you need to watch.”

Wow…! A sneak attack!

At that moment, hiding behind a broken pillar, Miss Shaya exclaimed in delight at the fight.

Xiarette, you really know how to fight!

Landing that hit was no easy feat. You have to understand, Uncle Jeffriel has lived for over three hundred years as a Demon, with battle experience that is incredibly deep. But who would have thought he’d run into monsters like you two pulling off such a sneak attack!

Hehe, hit him hard! Hit him hard! You all don’t know this… That Uncle Jeffriel, when I was little, I caught some fish, and he secretly let them all go as a prank! How could I possibly forgive that?!

——What Sheffy didn’t say was that the whole incident had started because she had first played a prank by releasing the fish Jeffriel had caught.

Blades and lightning clashed in the sky, as if swords and electricity were painting in mid-air. At a breathtaking speed, they collided and burst into fierce flames, the afterimages of their swift movements too fast to be captured.

The Tier Ten father and daughter of the Wright Family had actually managed to hold Jeffriel at bay for the moment. Golden light, icy gleams, and flaming hurricanes roared across the battlefield. What had seemed like a one-sided fight had now shifted into a tenuous balance.

Well… in truth, Uncle Jeffriel was holding back—this was something Sheffy had noticed from the start.

It was clear that he had not come here to kill, nor to stir up too much trouble.

Otherwise, those lethal grand spells of his would have already been unleashed. No mage would waste time engaging two warriors in close combat.

On the ground, those whose strength was insufficient to join the main fight were, under Karl Wright’s command, launching directional attack spells toward Jeffriel.

Though the attacks were as futile as ants trying to shake a tree, they still forced Jeffriel to split his attention—creating openings for the two Tier Ten warriors to press their assault. Besides, the Tier Eight and Tier Nine magic from the Wright Family could hardly be called mere ant bites.

They weren’t aiming to win—only to stall.

As long as they could hold out until the troops stationed outside the Royal Capital arrived, Jeffriel would have no choice but to retreat. After all, his goal here was merely to take the Demon Clan Princess, not to escalate this “personal action” into another war.

The King possessed keen insight… He had judged that Jeffriel’s actions were certainly not on the Demon King’s orders.

Meanwhile, Sheffy remained focused on the 【Demon Surge】 behind Jeffriel.

The only variable… was the person hiding behind Uncle Jeffriel…

That individual had yet to appear.

What exactly were they planning…?

Suddenly.

A familiar voice seemed to echo faintly in Sheffy’s ear.

“Elder Sister… don’t you want to come home yet…”

“Belith?”

Sheffy turned her head in surprise, twisting her neck—but saw no one.

An illusion?

Tch, that annoying Belith—you won’t catch fish with me, you won’t eat the grilled fish I make, and you’re always scolding me. Hmph! From now on, I absolutely won’t catch any more fish for you!

She turned her gaze back to that 【Demon Surge】, feeling increasingly restless.

The hope now was that Uncle Jeffriel wouldn’t lose control—if he could just assess the situation clearly and withdraw, that would be best. As for what came afterward, Sheffy had other plans in mind.

But…

Once a fight got exciting, who wouldn’t lose control?

“Hahahaha!! Splendid! Splendid indeed! This old man hadn’t expected any fun today, but to think the two of you possessed such skill! Tier Ten…? No, no, you both have the potential to surpass Tier Ten! And precisely because of that—this old man cannot allow you to live to see that day!”

It was as if he had just declared their death sentence.

Hearing this, Xiarette quickly tightened her grip on the Holy Sword and channeled her magic. Its golden brilliance, flowing like river water, lit up half the sky, dazzling as starlight.

“Father! Quickly pull back! He’s about to use some magic we’ve never seen before!”

“I know…!”

“Too late!!”

The dragons in the sky vanished entirely.

The world fell silent again. The sky, where blades and lightning had clashed just moments before, now seemed as though nothing had happened.

Yet… this was only the calm before the storm.

A darkness deeper than the night suddenly expanded like a black hole, engulfing the three figures in the sky.

Jeffriel murmured the name of this spell.

——【Zero】.

‘Uncle Jeffriel!! You’ve really lost it now!’

Sheffy knew that this was Jeffriel’s inherent domain magic.

It slowed the flow of time within the black hole to nearly zero, rendering the opponent incapable of fighting—imprisoning and killing them.

Just like its name, this was a terrifying magic that returned all things to “zero.”

‘Who cares if Jeffriel sees me! If I don’t act now, Xiarette will be in danger!’

Sheffy could no longer stay put.

She kicked aside the pillar in front of her, swung her short legs, and dashed straight toward the black hole below—gradually lifting off the ground as she charged upward toward it!

In the royal section protected by the Wright Family…

Third Princess Livra, already anxious and worried, suddenly turned and saw the little figure rising into the air—and froze on the spot.

Her mind buzzed.

When she finally reacted, she reached out instinctively, trying to stop her!

“Miss Shaya…! You mustn’t go over there!!!”

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