- crackle... crackle...

    the silver trajectory of frey’s sword beam shot through the sky toward aishi, leaving a dazzling streak.

    “tsk.”

    aishi quickly twisted her body, barely dodging the silver slash, but losing her balance and staggering in the air.

    frey, taking advantage of her vulnerability, launched a follow-up attack like a whirlwind.

    - crash...!

    “damn you...”

    frey’s sword, imbued with a starlight-like aura, clashed fiercely with the two ice spears hastily summoned by aishi. it was a battle of sheer will and strength.

    starlight and ice shards scattered in all directions, and frey’s intense gaze met aishi’s cold eyes.

    “hup.”

    “as expected...”

    frey was the first to retreat from the stalemate, leaving aishi with a slight smile that quickly turned into a puzzled expression.

    “...how?”

    aishi finally understood frey’s condition. somehow, despite being on the brink of death, he was burning his life force to use his ultimate skill.

    - creak...!

    “urgh.”

    quickly closing the distance he had gained, frey resumed his relentless assault, leaving aishi with no time to rest.

    “you have strength but lack skill.”

    frey taunted.

    “you...”

    “of course, you’ve never fought in a human body before.”

    “how did you resolve your life force issue?”

    “you did it for me.”

    aishi, bleeding from her shoulder, retreated as frey advanced.

    “i’m burning half my body with the hero’s ultimate skill, while the other half is sustained by your gift, demonification.”

    “...what?”

    “when i was on the brink of death once before, i learned this technique. now kania is helping me maintain it.”

    “hmph.”

    aishi, grimacing from frey’s relentless attacks, encased herself in ice and raised her left hand.

    “thank you for the information.”

    “what are you grateful for?”

    “one of my titles is the ruler of the void. all demonic monsters and erosion originate from there.”

    “so?”

    “if you are a demonic monster, then, i can control you.”

    black smoke began to creep towards frey as aishi spoke with a smile.

    “submit.”

    but frey, smiling as well, kicked the top of the ice sphere encasing aishi, slamming it into the ground.

    - boom!!

    “your absolute control is limited to your main body. right now, you’re just a mere avatar.”

    grinding her teeth, aishi shattered the ice encasing her and launched shards in all directions, which frey deflected with starlight magic as he landed gracefully.

    “i’m not just an avatar! i represent the will of the main body. i can control any darkness emanating from me!”

    “unfortunately for you, i’ve already made a new pact with the new eclipse god. i’m free from your influence.”

    “...”

    “isn’t my butler very impressive?”

    frey shrugged as he swung his sword with full force, prompting aishi to hastily summon an ice barrier to block his attack.

    “don’t get cocky.”

    she raised her left hand again, chanting ominously.

    “in that case, i’ll simply open my void domain here.”

    - crack... crackle...

    “beings spawned from me, purge the unworthy from this sanctum.”

    the space around the academy began to tear, and red-eyed demonic monsters poured out.

    “so you were behind the erosion phenomenon after all.”

    frey muttered, clenching his jaw as he watched the demonic monsters charge towards the academy.

    - young master, i apologize. i cannot control the erosion around the academy.

    kania’s voice echoed in frey’s mind.

    - if i push myself, i can control it, but it will reduce the time i can maintain the eclipse. what should i do...?

    “just focus on maintaining the eclipse. we’ll handle this.”

    frey looked back at the heroines, issuing commands.

    “ruby, help me. we need to deal with aishi and the demon king’s army. she’s not at full strength, so we have a chance.”

    “got it.”

    “and the rest of you, split into two teams as planned. one team will handle the demonic monsters pouring in, and the other will evacuate the civilians. understood?”

    with a determined look, frey and ruby advanced towards aishi.

    “oh, and irina.”

    “huh?”

    frey whispered something to irina, who was standing nervously beside him.

    “...what?”

    “good luck.”

    “wait, frey!!”

    with a smile, frey launched himself towards aishi again.

    “let’s see how good my successor is.”

    ruby, setting aside her wine glass, released a terrifying demonic energy and flew into the air.

    “what did he mean by that...”

    irina, confused, reached out but then frowned and looked up.

    - flap, flap...

    the sound of massive wings filled the air.

    the dragons that had filled the sky for months began to descend, emitting their dragon fear in all directions.

    “...”

    watching the chaos, irina gritted her teeth and started moving.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    .

    “alright...”

    a while later.

    “...it’s going as planned.”

    lemerno, leading the main force of the demon army, glanced back with a smile.

    - crash... crash...!!!

    “hyaah!!”

    a fierce battle between demon king aishi, frey, and ruby was unfolding right in front of the academy.

    “they’re evenly matched.”

    lemerno, evaluating the battle as a demon army strategist, muttered.

    “there won’t be a winner for hours.”

    frey, burning with silver and black aura, slashed an ice meteor falling towards the academy, then used the debris to propel himself towards aishi.

    - crackle...!

    meanwhile, ruby, flying above, summoned red lightning and struck aishi.

    - boom...!!!

    aishi countered frey’s sword strike with numerous ice spears and blocked ruby’s lightning with an intricate ice shield.

    - swish, swish...

    “...!?”

    confused, lemerno’s eyes widened as she saw what happened next.

    “what the hell.”

    this time, it was because serena had quickly passed through the alleyways on both sides of her.

    “w-what the hell.....”

    putting aside the fact that serena had passed behind her, a chilling problem arises: serena was clearly only one person.

    how did she pass on both sides?

    - swish, swish, swish...

    “sh-shit.”

    at the moment when cold sweat started to pour down lemerno’s forehead, serena’s clothes brushed past her again simultaneously from the front, back, and both sides of the alley.

    “we’re retreating. something is definitely wrong–”

    lemerno turned her horse around and gave order to the demon king’s army that followed her.

    “...”

    but then she froze in that very position.

    “wh-why...”

    her face turned pale and sweat poured down her forehead as her heart started pounding wildly.

    “why can i... see behind me?”

    the simple fact was this: she had brought the elite troops of the demon king’s army to take all the citizens of the empire hostage.

    so, her soldiers should have been densely packed in the alley.

    why could she see serena entering the alley from behind?

    normally, the tightly packed soldiers would block her view.

    “...hah, hah.”

    with that realization, lemerno breathed in terror and very slowly turned her head.

    “...”

    what she saw was an empty alley.

    “sh-shit.”

    then it struck her.

    she had been wandering alone in this eerie alley for a while now.

    “i-i need to get out of here...”

    as the eerie sound of wind echoed through the alley that had swallowed all her soldiers, lemerno, with a trembling voice, urgently tugged on her horse’s reins.

    - swish.

    “huh?”

    but at that moment.

    - swish, swish, swish, swish, swish...

    she heard the sound of clothes brushing the ground frantically coming from directly behind her.

    “ah, aaaaaaah!!”

    as something brushed against her neck, lemerno let out a sobbing scream and started running frantically forward.

    - swish, swish, swish...

    “save meeeeee!!!”

    but despite her screams, the sound of clothes brushing the ground continued to follow her relentlessly, making her unable to even think of turning back. she screamed as she ran through the alley.

    .

    .

    .

    .

    .

    “well done.”

    meanwhile, at the nearby barracks.

    “as expected of the greatest spatial mage, dmir khan. to be able to distort the entire back alley.”

    - you flatter me.

    serena, sitting safely in a plush chair, gently rubbing her slightly swollen belly, was issuing commands to the hologram in front of her.

    “the demon king will remember your hard work.”

    - it is unnecessary. serving the true demon king, frey, is my duty.

    “...indeed. by the way, are you ready?”

    - yes, soon one-third of the demon king’s army will join our side.

    “hehe, good job.”

    - endless glory to the demon king...

    as dmir khan bowed and serena waved her hand and turned off the hologram, she smiled coldly and issued orders to her subordinates, who were disguised as her and wandering through the back alleys.

    “don’t give her any time to rest, and keep pushing. we need to keep her there for at least half a day.”

    - understood...

    “exhausted people should switch with those on standby. those on standby should memorize the distorted alley map i distributed.”

    - yes...

    “good, keep up the good work.”

    after giving the orders and turning off the signal, serena looked at lemerno, who was still running and screaming through the alley, with a satisfied expression and murmured.

    “here i am, pregnant, chasing you, a succubus, who’s still a virgin... hehe.”

    - stoooop it...!!!

    .

    .

    .

    .

    .

    - step, step...

    meanwhile, on the hill near the academy, where the dragons were stationed.

    “grrrrr...”

    “growl...”

    a few dragons, who had been pretending to attack the academy’s barrier, started growling as someone approached them.

    “shut your mouths, you bastards!”

    “...huh?”

    “grrr...oh?”

    but then a girl, who had flinched momentarily, bravely raised her voice and shouted, causing the dragons to look confused.

    “s-s-stupid lizard bastards... do you want to fight? i’m the great archmage...”

    - thud...

    “wha!?”

    as the dragons suddenly lowered their bodies, causing dust to rise, irina mistook it as a sign of attack and prepared to cast a spell.

    “grrr...”

    “gyuu...”

    “...!?!”

    but then, the dust settled, revealing a completely incomprehensible scene to her.

    “what... what the hell?”

    the noble and great dragons were lying on the ground like dogs, wagging their tails.

    - swish...

    “ah?”

    a massive dragon slowly approached irina, who was staring in astonishment.

    “haa... haa...”

    “goddammit.”

    as the dragon rolled over and exposed its belly, showing affection, she instinctively cursed.

    “are these damn lizards losing their minds?”

    “grrrr...”