Ch.126Chapter 126. Resurrection of the Devil (3)

Crack-

With a sound like shattering glass, the frozen troll broke into countless pieces.

No matter how powerful a troll’s legendary regeneration might be, when shattered to this extent, it would never recover.

“Phew.”

Yuria surveyed the battlefield, which was gradually being cleared up after the last troll had been destroyed, and let out a short sigh.

“Let’s clean up and have a meeting shortly.”

Yuria tossed these words to those around her and hurried toward her tent.

There were numerous things she needed to check immediately.

The sudden invasion of monsters had caught even the great Yuria off guard.

The monster invasion itself was shocking enough, but seeing so many different species descending together was particularly alarming.

If the continent’s strongest fighters hadn’t been gathered at this location, the northern front would certainly have been breached.

‘Something’s not right.’

As the urgent situation settled, questions about the circumstances began to surface in Yuria’s mind.

Hostile monster species gathering in one place and moving with a unified purpose was an ominous sign.

To Yuria’s knowledge, there had only been one instance in history when monsters had joined forces.

Before the Crescen Empire was established, when the first Emperor Crescen faced off against the nameless demon’s army.

According to legend, the demon army at that time included every monster species found on the continent.

‘Could it be?’

The more Yuria thought about it, the more she couldn’t shake off her unsettling feeling.

What she had learned through Kilvis, the elder of the Nameless Organization, was that they were plotting the revival of the nameless demon and had actually come close to achieving their goal.

She had thought they’d bought some time by stealing and destroying the hourglass, but apparently that wasn’t the case.

Yuria vaguely knew.

That something far more important than the bone powder in the hourglass was the demon’s soul, said to be shattered and sealed away.

But despite all her investigations and searches, she couldn’t discover what object contained the soul fragments, while the Nameless Organization already knew.

On top of that, they had executed simultaneous operations to secure four accessories.

‘Have they succeeded in the revival?’

Yuria’s expression grew increasingly grim.

This monster invasion carried many implications.

“Yuria.”

“…Ah, Commander.”

What broke Yuria from her deep contemplation was Ryuyeong, who carefully entered the tent while surveying the surroundings.

As soon as Yuria saw Commander Ryuyeong’s expression, she instinctively knew her concerns weren’t unfounded.

Entering the tent without his mask, Ryuyeong’s expression was as serious and dark as Yuria’s.

“You felt it too, Commander. This monster invasion is probably…”

“I saw someone there earlier.”

“…What?”

Yuria tilted her head, looking at Ryuyeong’s still serious expression.

The words from the commander’s mouth were quite different from what she had expected.

She hadn’t seen anyone but monsters there, so who could he have seen?

“Who was it?”

“I’m not entirely sure… but it felt like someone floating in the air, observing the battle. And…”

Yuria’s expression hardened as she listened to the commander’s words.

It was none other than Yuria herself who had been at the forefront of the battlefield just now.

Though she had been directly confronting monsters at the front line, Yuria hadn’t noticed anyone else there besides monsters.

Even if this person had been floating in the air as the commander said, the fact that she hadn’t detected their presence at all was shocking.

“They were strong.”

“…!”

Yuria was almost certain after hearing the commander’s firm statement.

Though the commander often had a playful side, he wasn’t someone who would joke about such serious matters with such a grave expression.

For the commander, one of the most powerful individuals Yuria knew, to declare someone strong…

All circumstances pointed to one thing.

The revival of the nameless demon.

“Haaa.”

A deep sigh escaped from Yuria’s lips.

**

“Lord Satan.”

“I told you not to follow me.”

“B-but I must attend to you at all times.”

Satan made no reply to Arte, who bowed her head and responded almost shouting.

Instead, he simply moved forward.

Arte hurriedly followed as Satan began to move.

Step- Step-

Though he seemed to be walking on the ground, Satan was suddenly walking through the air.

In appearance, he was completely human.

With black hair and looks that wouldn’t be inferior to any human.

With each step he took, an intense aura emanated from him.

He had an appearance that perfectly suited the name “demon.”

“Lord Satan, may I ask where you’re going?”

Arte couldn’t walk on air like Satan, but she was following along using a gaseous creature to float.

“I’m going to create an army.”

“An army…?”

Images of the countless monsters that had just been thrown at the humans flashed through Arte’s mind.

Their attack on the human alliance wasn’t of their own will.

Having lost their leaders to Satan and fallen into fear, they were forced to charge at the humans.

If they didn’t, they would lose their lives to Satan.

They had chosen the path that would let them survive a little longer.

“The monsters of this era have grown pathetically weak.”

“…”

Arte remained silent, not knowing how to respond to a statement she couldn’t answer.

Judging by his reference to “this era’s” monsters, Satan seemed to be thinking about monsters he had commanded in the past.

“The current ones are useless.”

Satan concluded firmly.

Arte swallowed dryly, never having considered such a thought before.

The army of monsters gathered earlier.

Honestly, Arte had thought they would be enough to annihilate the human alliance.

Not only orcs and trolls, but also giant spiders and minotaurs were among them.

From the humans’ perspective, these were monsters that would be troublesome even if encountered individually, and there were dozens gathered.

It was enough force to potentially overthrow not just a city but perhaps even a nation.

Yet the result was the opposite of Arte’s expectation.

Hundreds of monsters were visibly blocked by the human alliance.

She had thought they would at least inflict some damage, but that wasn’t the case either.

Monsters that broke through the barrier and entered the human camp were frozen or burned to death, unable to avoid human magic.

Though there were some individuals mixed in with immunity to magic, just a few specimens couldn’t break through the humans’ solid defense.

Among the human alliance were many who were skilled not only in magic but also in physical attacks.

“Then who will be Lord Satan’s subordinates…?”

“I’ll just make the useless ones useful.”

“Pardon?”

Arte didn’t immediately understand Satan’s words.

Just moments ago he had called them useless, as if he would discard them, but now he was talking about making them useful.

While Arte was confused, trying to understand Satan’s intentions, Satan stopped walking.

Arte naturally stopped as well and looked around.

Below them was a wyvern nest.

The remaining wyverns, as if aware of Satan’s arrival, were each hiding in their nests, curling up their bodies.

“Come out.”

Kieek-

Though they couldn’t possibly understand human language, the wyverns began to spread their wings and take flight one by one, as if they had understood Satan’s command.

Dozens of wyverns had been sacrificed in the battle with humans earlier, but countless wyverns still remained.

‘What a spectacle.’

Arte was in awe at the hundreds of wyverns rising into the air, terrified by Satan’s single word.

The sky literally covered in black was a scene that inspired wonder in many ways.

“You are all too weak as you are now.”

Satan spoke to the wyverns in a contemptuous voice, as if making an announcement.

Hundreds of wyverns remained suspended in the air, none making a sound.

“Therefore, I shall bestow power upon you.”

“Power…?”

It was Arte, not the wyverns, who responded to Satan’s words.

Arte reacted reflexively upon hearing what came from Satan’s mouth.

The mention of sharing “power.”

Arte knew all too well what those words from Satan meant.

The reason Arte could use black magic in earnest was because the Creator had shared “power” with her.

Power directly bestowed by the nameless demon, Lord Satan.

Gulp-

Arte swallowed unnecessarily, looking back and forth between Satan and the wyvern flock with anticipation in her eyes.

The wyverns, seemingly unaware of what an honor it was to receive power from Lord Satan, were all still terrified.

“Well then.”

As Satan slowly raised his hand toward the empty air, black energy began to form in his palm.

The energy gradually condensed into a spherical shape, and once it reached a certain size, it stopped expanding.

Whoosh-

The sphere that had stopped expanding split into hundreds of pieces with Satan’s gesture and began flying toward the wyvern flock suspended in the air.

Kieeeeek-!

Soon, agonized screams began to be heard among the wyverns.

Some fell limply from the air amid the screams.

‘What is this?’

“Those too weak to accept my power are better off dead.”

Satan spoke in the same monotone as before.

While wyverns that failed to accept the power lost their lives and fell to the ground, those that succeeded were different.

Kyaaaak-!

Roaring wyvern cries filled the air.

“Let’s move on to the next.”

Satan continued calmly.