SHINEE!

A massive wave of golden mana burst out, enveloping everyone on the battlefield.

Instantly, the students snapped their heads back, and their eyes widened in relief.

“Saintess!”

Behind them, with a glowing golden staff, Christina had conjured a spell that allowed them to defend themselves against the attack of the archdemon of pride.

“Keep focus! This barrier won’t last for long!” she warned them.

Immediately, they composed themselves, and the mages started conjuring spells while the swordsmen and warriors prepared themselves for an attack.

『 Fire Series: Fire Tornado! (✦ 4th-Level Spell ✦)』

『 Wood Series: Thorn of Spikes! (✦ 4th-Level Spell ✦)』

『 Water Series: Water Spears! (✦ 3rd-Level Spell ✦)』

The air crackled as powerful spells gathered, but none were as strong as the magic prepared by Rose and Violet.

『 Fire Series: Phoenix Rush! (✦ 6th-Level Spell ✦)』

『 Crystal Meteor! (✦ 6th-Level Spell ✦)』

“The barrier is about to break!” Christian rang out, warning everyone.

CRACK!

The golden barrier shattered like glass, scattering shards of light.

SWOOSH!

Hundreds of spells flew through the air, roaring toward the Archdemon.

Yet, the demon didn’t flinch.

His dark mana surged as he raised a dense black barrier.

But, just as the magic was about to collide—Two figures shot forward like bolts of lightning.

“Demon Slaying Sword Art…!”

“Royal Swordsmanship…!”

『 Void Breaker! 』

『 Divine Punishment! 』

CRACK!

The demon’s barrier splintered under their combined strikes, breaking apart.

And of course, Ella and Lucas didn’t stop—they crushed a teleportation stone in their hands and vanished into thin air.

BOOOOOOOOOM!

FREEEEZEEE!

CRACCKLEE!

The students’ spells crashed into the demon, a cacophony of ice, fire, and thunder. Smoke rose high into the air, shrouding the battlefield.

Fwip!

Zeva slashed through the smoke with a wave of energy, cutting it apart.

And to their surprise, there he was.

The archdemon stood untouched, stepping out of the barrage of spells with a cruel grin.

His wings stretched wide, casting an ominous shadow over the battlefield, looking down at the group of students as if they were mere ants.

He had raised a single finger, effortlessly stopping Zeva’s attack in midair.

“HAHAHAHA! Humans are truly fascinating creatures,” the archdemon sneered, grinning widely, while its wings flapped.

His gaze fell on Lucas, who clutched the glowing Excalibur in his hands.”But most interesting of all… our dear hero.”

Fwip!

A mana arrow shot toward him, whistling through the air.

The demon smirked and raised his hand, ready to swat it away—

Splurt!

To his surprise, the arrow pierced clean through his palm.

Blood splattered across the air as the demon’s grin twisted into a snarl.

“AHH! WHO DARES?!”

His furious eyes scanned the battlefield, locking onto a brown-haired woman in a maid outfit. She was already nocking three more arrows onto her glowing bow.

“A HIGH ELF?”

“I KNEW I SHOULD HAVE ELIMINATED THE ELF RACE A LONG TIME AGO!” he clutched his tightly, looking at her with a terrifying rage in his eyes,

At his words, Alaine only smiled coldly:

“Then, try it, you fucking trash of a demon.”

Fwip!

Three arrows soared toward him, but the Archdemon moved faster this time, his wings flapping with enough force to distort the space around him.

But just as he dodged—SLASH!

A black-haired girl appeared right in front of him, holding a pair of daggers.

“Omnislash.”

Chaerin uttered flatly.

SPLURT!

Blood erupted from a dozen cuts across the Archdemon’s body in an instant, and before he could recover, the three arrows Alaine had fired pierced him again.

Splat!

“AAAAARGH! YOU FILTHY WORMS!”

The demon’s mana exploded outward in rage, a dark storm consuming the air.

BAM!

In the blink of an eye, he vanished.

The sound of wings flapping was the only warning.

WHOOSH!

He reappeared right in front of Chaerin, his clawed hand snapping out like a vice.

GRIP!

He seized her neck, lifting her off the ground.

“Let’s see how long you can last, little insect,” the Archdemon sneered, tightening his grip around her little neck.

“Chaerin!” Alaine screamed, already releasing two arrows.

Fwoop!

Lucas and Maya closed in from behind, while Rose and Violet began chanting their strongest spells again.

Ella’s sword glowed blindingly bright, drawing in mana from the surroundings as she prepared her ultimate sword art.

Even Zeva worked tirelessly, tending to the injured and bolstering the priests to keep them standing.

But no matter how prepared they were, Chaerin’s time was slipping away—none of them could reach her fast enough to stop the Archdemon from crushing her completely.

THUMP…

…THUMP!

Her heartbeat echoed faintly in her ears as her hands struggled against his grip…

“Ghh… g-ga… gah…” she choked, saliva slipping down her chin as her lips quivered.

Tears blurred her vision, the world around her spinning as she struggled for air.

The pain was unbearable.

It burned her throat, crushed her chest, and sent waves of agony through her entire body.

Her legs kicked weakly, but her strength was fading fast.”D-dad… s-save me…” she whimpered, her voice barely audible.

Her body sagged, the fight leaving her as her eyelids drooped.

CLANG!

The desperate attacks of Lucas and Maya rang out, their blades deflected effortlessly with just a flick of the demon’s fingers.

Fwoop!

And of course, this time, he easily avoided the arrows sent by Alaine, as for the others, they wouldn’t be able to attack him for now, leaving Chaerin completely at his mercy.

“Such an annoying ant,” the Archdemon sneered, his grin widening as his fingers dug into her neck.

“You’re tougher than I thought. But don’t worry… no one will save you this time.”

His dark eyes gleamed with sadistic glee, his wings spreading wide as he imagined the pleasure of watching her lifeless body fall to the ground.

“…P…p-papa…”

She uttered her final words.

Shing.

A faint, almost insignificant noise broke through the chaos.

It was very silent.

The kind that you could easily ignore.

But he, the archdemon, couldn’t ignore it.

His ears twitched, his cruel grin faltering for a split second.

SPLURT!

The sound of tearing flesh followed as his arm—still gripping Chaerin’s neck—was severed cleanly at the elbow.

Blood sprayed into the air, the dismembered limb falling heavily to the ground.

Step…

Along with the sound of boots falling into the ground.

Chaerin’s half-closed eyes fluttered open slightly, her vision blurred but just enough to catch a familiar figure standing before her.

“P…Papa…” she murmured weakly, a faint, tearful smile forming on her lips.

“….”

Aestrea didn’t speak at first.

His expression was cold, his gaze locked on the Archdemon.

He stepped forward and gently passed Chaerin to Alaine, who quickly caught her and nodded without hesitation.

“…Protect her.”

He uttered simply which Alaine promptly nodded to.

The Archdemon, now furious, roared with rage.

“WHO DARES?! WHO DARES?! WHO DARES?! SHOW YOURSELF, YOU FILTHY RAT!”

Dark mana spiraled around his severed arm, reconnecting it in a grotesque display.

His eyes burned with madness as he glared in every direction, seeking the one who dared to challenge him.

Aestrea finally turned, his eyes glowing dimly.

He looked different…

His right eye glowed red, with the symbol of a law scale.

While his left eye glowed icy blue, with the faint outline of a crescent moon.

“Moonlight Swordsman!”

Many students exclaimed loudly.

Aestrea, no, the Moonlight Swordsman ignored their words.

“Fuu…”

His body began to glow, but instead of his usual silver mana, a fierce violet aura erupted around him, shooting into the sky like a pillar of raw energy.

BAAM!

The dark clouds above split, the sky turning half-violet as if the world itself recognized the arrival of someone who could match the Archdemon.

Shing.

Another bland noise echoed, and in an instant, a long, menacing scythe appeared in Aestrea’s hand.

SPLURT!

A hundred meters away, the Archdemon froze, his body splitting cleanly in two before he could even register what had happened.

“ARGHH! YOU… YOU DAMN RAT!” he groaned loudly, his body stitching itself back together with dark energy.

But before he could fully recover, Aestrea’s face suddenly appeared inches from his own, his scythe already swinging.

『 Bleed 』

SPLURT!

SPLAT!

Blood erupted from the Archdemon’s body. His ears, fingertips, chest—every inch of him began to bleed profusely.

Then, another swing came, faster than the demon could react.

Click!

The Archdemon crossed his arms in an ‘X’, blocking the scythe with all his strength.

[Archdemon Authority!]

A wave of crushing pressure exploded outward, forcing Aestrea back slightly.

The demon grinned wickedly as his Authority took hold of the place, granting him complete control of his surroundings.

The air grew heavier, the ground trembling under the overwhelming force of his power. Within this space, his strength multiplied exponentially.

However, Aestrea’s cold voice cut through the oppressive air.

Like he didn’t care about that all.”You never learn, do you?”He raised his hand calmly.

『 Bleed 』

『 Bleed 』

『 Bleed 』

『 Bleed 』

『 Bleed 』

Five consecutive blees were activated, each one forcing blood to gush from the Archdemon’s body like a fountain.

SPLURT!

SPLAT!

The demon’s form exploded in a rain of blood and gore, but even then, his body reformed, piecing itself back together like a twisted puzzle.

“…This should be enough for now.”

Aestrea muttered under his breath, stepping back casually.

BAAAAM!

Behind him, two golden auras erupted, shooting into the heavens and turning the sky bright gold. Ella and Lucas stood tall, their swords radiating brilliant light as they prepared their ultimate attack.

Aestrea glanced back briefly and nodded, stepping aside to give them a clear path.

“HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!”

Both of them roared in unison, their voices ringing out like thunder as they swung their swords down.

BOOOOOOOM!

The combined attack from Ella and Lucas tore through the air, the sheer force shaking the battlefield.

A wave of golden energy surged forward, ripping through the ground like an unstoppable tsunami.

The Archdemon snarled, spreading his arms wide as a dark barrier formed around him.

CRACKLE!

BOOM!

The golden attack collided with the barrier, the impact creating an explosion that lit up the sky itself.

The ground beneath the Archdemon cracked and crumbled, forming a deep crater from the force of the collision.

“IS THAT ALL?!” the Archdemon roared, his barrier holding strong despite visible cracks forming along its surface.

His dark mana swirled violently, repairing the damage as fast as it came.

Looking at this, both Ella’s and Lucas’s eyes widened in shock.

On the other side, Aestrea didn’t look too surprised.

[You have gained the trait—”Cold Blooded (S-)”!]

Instead, a small window popped in front of him.

[Twin Heart Mana Body’s Ability Duration: 5 minutes, 23 seconds.]

“I don’t have time for this.”

The reason why Aestrea was so powerful, was that after he fused with the Lich’s Heart, he awakened the special ability of his physique.

An ability that would increase all of his attributes except mana by a short period, without any side effects at all.

The only problem was that this ability could only be used once a month.

But even with that, it was very overpowered.

It was strong enough to actually surpass any kind of divine ability.

“Let’s see…”

Aestrea’s eyes narrowed as he increased the consumption of mana on his Judgement Eye.

He looked at the students, and his eyes widened in surprise to see that all of them almost didn’t have any mana reserves.

Along with that, Zeva was the one granting mana to the priests to heal the other students.

“She should be on attack…”

Then, he also found two familiar faces.

Iris and Maya.

Both of them had passed out.

As for Rose, she was meditating, gathering as much mana as she could.

And so was Violet.

“…It seems that I’ll need to hold the demon for those five minutes…”

“At least, until the Sword Duke and the rest get here.”

Aestrea cracked his head slightly.

Although he couldn’t kill the archdemon.

He still could give him the beating of his life.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep