Chapter 108: The Invasion of Evil (1)

“

Ahhhhh!

” The soldiers let out terrified screams as they charged. They were not rallying cries to boost morale or shouts of resolve. Instead, they were desperate shrieks of cowardice.

Standing before them, the demon grinned and raised her hammer.

Crunch.

Their weapons and armor crumpled under a single blow. Blood sprayed in all directions as life after life vanished at the demon’s casual swing.

Amidst the gruesome carnage, the demon trembled with twisted excitement. “Ah, yes. This is exactly what I wanted.”

“

Ugh... Ah...

” The soldiers staggered back with terror on their faces. The demon smirked and lunged at them, ready to strike. They braced themselves for the inevitable doom.

“Stop right there, demon!” A single knight rushed forward at an incredible speed. The demon quickly retrieved her outstretched hammer to parry the knight, and metal clashed against metal.

Seeing someone stand against the demon, the soldiers’ eyes lit up with hope.

“Yes!”

“It’s Sir Garura!”

Clutching his sword, the knight named Garura shouted roughly, “Everyone, fall back! I will handle this from here!”

“Y-yes, sir!” The soldiers retreated in a panicked rush.

Meanwhile, Ashetiaar, the demon, watched them as if she were indulging in a spectacle. “You’re willing to risk your life for them? What a gallant man.”

“Demon...” Garura gritted his teeth, revealing piercing blue eyes beneath his blond hair. “What is your name?”

“Ashetiaar,” she answered casually.

Garura’s pupils widened. “You’re the demon that descended recently...”

“Oh my, so you know me?” Ashetiaar replied, sounding delighted.

Garura muttered a curse internally.

A named demon has descended upon our capital...

Not all demons were strong. Some were so weak that even a simple woodcutter could kill them. Strictly speaking, however, those creatures weren’t true demons but fragments of evil and dark energy. People usually called them fiends.

In contrast, a demon with a proper name was a genuine demon. Such beings left deep scars on the world whenever they manifested.

Damn it,

Garura thought. Only the Swordmaster could truly stand against someone like this.

However, Maximus—who held that title—was away patrolling the border. Even if he returned after receiving word, it would take time.

I have to buy time,

Garura resolved. He had to keep Ashetiaar occupied until the Swordmaster got back and until the priests could finish their preparations. Steeling himself, he channeled Aura into his sword.

“

Hup!

” A faint Aura rippled around the blade, signifying the fruit of countless hours of training. Garura focused his gaze. “Demon, this is a human city, and your kind has no place here.”

His unwavering stance made Ashetiaar smile. “You’re prepared to sacrifice yourself? You really are quite admirable.”

With a burst of speed almost impossible to follow, Ashetiaar hurled herself forward. She closed the distance between them in an instant.

I can see her movements!

Garura reacted swiftly. He was strong, once overwhelming his own sword instructor after just a year of training. He grew stronger at a startling rate, astonishing even the Swordmaster.

People believed he would soon step into the realm rivaling that of Transcendent knights. Among the Advanced knights of the Denian Kingdom, he stood at the very pinnacle.

Garura swung his sword, meeting Ashetiaar’s hammer head-on.

Huh...?

Something felt terribly wrong the moment Garura’s blade collided. He couldn’t withstand her strike at all. His sword felt as if it was being crushed like brittle clay.

Panicking, he poured more Aura into the blade until it blazed with dazzling light. None of it made the slightest difference. Ashetiaar’s hammer pressed down like a towering mountain.

“W-wait—!” Garura shouted.

“Weren’t you resolved to die? Let me grant you a glorious death,” she mocked, redoubling her strength.

Crunch.

That was the end of the one once hailed as Denian’s hope. Wearing a sadistic smile, Ashetiaar murmured, “

Ahhh,

this is so satisfying!”

She giggled gleefully as she continued deeper into the city. From every direction, screams echoed, and panicked footsteps clattered on the streets.

Walking at a leisurely pace, Ashetiaar eventually arrived at the plaza. It was usually packed with people, lined with stalls and merchants, but now it stood completely deserted. Instead, a ring of people surrounded the open square, wearing golden robes that were immaculate and uniform. They were priests, devotees of the divine.

Ashetiaar’s lips curled into a smile. “Looks like you’re ready for me.”

“We thank those who gave their lives buying us time,” one priest said, fixing Ashetiaar with a grim stare. “Demon, I do not know how you managed to appear in this world, but you’ve gone far enough. You do not belong here.”

The priest stomped his foot, and the others copied him in unison. A rhythmic pounding spread across the plaza.

“As priests of the Earth Goddess, we will banish you from this world.”

With those words, they began to sing a hymn—a sacred chant of believers filled with devout faith. Their voices resonated in perfect harmony, and a brilliant golden light descended on the empty square. It pinned Ashetiaar in place, slowly bearing down on her.

“Demon!” the lead priest shouted. “You have no right to be here! Return to where you came from!”

In this world, holy power wielded by the faithful was absolute against demons. The priest believed Ashetiaar would have no choice but to flee under the weight of the divine light.

“

Ha!

” Instead, Ashetiaar simply laughed. “

Hahaha! Hahaha!”

Her mad laughter reverberated through the city, brimming with darkness and malice. The sacred light that confined her began to crackle and waver.

“You really think a mere hymn can hold me back?” she said, mockingly. Her stark-white eyes gleamed dangerously. She was Ashetiaar, a named demon who once destroyed an entire kingdom by herself centuries ago. “You’re all too weak. Your spell is pathetic and crude. You cannot stop me!”

She stomped, and spikes of darkness erupted in all directions.

Crack!

The dark barbs punctured the holy radiance, tearing it apart. The priests who had been chanting with their eyes closed suddenly collapsed, their bodies pierced. The golden pillar of light restraining her vanished.

“This... this can’t be!” one priest gasped.

How could a demon overcome the power of the gods?

Ashetiaar jeered at his disbelief. ”If this is all the faith you have, you should have brought your scriptures and prayed harder. Maybe don’t rely on your god so much next time.”

Gathering her power, Ashetiaar condensed a mass of darkness around her. Then she unleashed it in a violent explosion.

Black spikes shot out in every direction, piercing the buildings that ringed the plaza. They collapsed with thunderous crashes. The capital city of the Denian Kingdom, painstakingly built over the centuries, was crumbling under the power of a single demon.

***

“This is insane!” Milayna shouted.

In the midst of the city’s destruction, Milayna’s face contorted in fury. She knew perfectly well what was happening. Messengers from the royal palace had rushed over to warn her.

A demon?!

she thought, gritting her teeth. She was aware the world was on the brink of upheaval, and she had sensed something bizarre brewing behind the scenes. Yet, never did she imagine that the being causing all this chaos would be a named demon—an existence that, until now, belonged only in the pages of history.

She wanted to deny it, but it was too late. The capital was already in ruins.

What can I do in this situation?

she wondered, quickly sorting through her options.

“Everyone, evacuate!” Milayna shouted. “Head to the nearest church, or better yet, leave the capital entirely! Do not let yourselves become the demon’s hostages!”

These people were defenseless against a being of such power, and if they were taken hostage, it would only make matters worse. Ordering them to flee was the only correct course of action.

This kind of quick thinking reflected Milayna’s keen mind, but it was also her limit. Her influence lay in money and authority—power that only held sway under human laws and systems. Against an inhuman entity beyond such rules, all her wealth and status amounted to nothing. Pure might was the only thing that could stand against a demon like that.

She couldn’t help but wonder,

Where are Ketal and Arkemis when we need them?

***

Rumble.

The capital continued collapsing. Knights charged in, all recognized as exceptionally talented members of noble families. Yet, they fell one by one, slaughtered as though they were ordinary foot soldiers. In mere moments, entire squadrons of knights were annihilated.

Gripping her hammer, Ashetiaar swung it again, toppling another building with its shockwave. A store that had stood for over a century caved in as if it were made of sand. Dancing with eerie poise, she suddenly halted.

Huh?

For the first time, Ashetiaar’s expression changed. She raised her hammer defensively.

Clang!

A metallic crash echoed through the air. To an untrained eye, it would have seemed like a sudden explosion of sound. Seeing who stood before her, Ashetiaar let out a sly chuckle.

“You must’ve rushed here,” she taunted. “You look exhausted.”

“Demon...,” the Swordmaster of the Denian Kingdom, Maximus, growled through clenched teeth, beads of sweat trickling down his cheeks. He had been patrolling the border, preparing for any demonic incursions, when he received frantic word that a demon had appeared in the capital.

He raced back, only to find he was too late. Half of the city was already in ruins. With a calm yet grim gaze, he observed Ashetiaar, noting her violet horns.

“Ashetiaar. You’re the demon that descended not long ago,” he said.

“Oh my, you already know my name?” she replied, sounding amused.

“I heard the inquisitor exorcised you. How are you here again?”

“Hm?” Ashetiaar’s lips curved into a cryptic smile. “So you’re all clueless about what actually happened.”

Maximus narrowed his eyes. “How can a demon like you even be here?”

He couldn’t wrap his head around what was going on. The demon had supposedly been banished, and he had no idea how she could descend to the human world so soon. It defied explanation.

Frowning, Ashetiaar grumbled, “Actually I’m late. I should have been rampaging long before this, but my plans were thrown off because of that strangely powerful man.” She shrugged as if it hardly mattered. “Well, no point dwelling on it now.”

She took a deep breath and shouted, her voice ringing throughout the rubble-strewn capital.

“Hear me, humans!” It was a cry dripping with malice. “Your world is twisted! You’re so weak that if you aren’t leaning on some worthless god, you cannot even maintain your own sanity. And it’s that same god who made you so pathetic!”

Her voice penetrated every corner of the city. Even those who clamped their hands over their ears heard it echoing in their minds.

“Anomalies are spilling out from beyond this world’s boundaries! Your world will perish—it will collapse! But do not worry!”

It was both a declaration and a prophecy of evil.

“We will restore you to the form you were always meant to have! We will purge every foul corruption from this land! And your rightful ruler will set foot in this desecrated world once more!” she cried out as if her words were meant for the entire kingdom. “Rejoice, revere, and tremble—for the Demon King will descend upon this world!”