Ch.230Chapter 230: A New Era (2).

# Chapter 230: A New Era (2)

Valt stood precariously on Lilith’s magic platform in the sky, breathing heavily.

Though he had barely avoided complete exhaustion, every muscle in his body screamed violently from the aftermath of the tremendous power he had just wielded.

Yet his golden eyes shone with the reverence of one who had tested and surpassed his own limits.

“A-Amazing… Valt!”

Arias whispered in a trembling voice, practically leaning against Valt for support.

Lati and Lilith too were barely maintaining their balance, their faces pale.

Their expressions reflected awe and elation at witnessing an unbelievable sight and participating in such a monumental achievement.

“Incredible… truly… like a scene from a creation myth…”

At Lati’s murmur, Lilith nodded slightly.

“Lord Valt… truly… you create miracles.”

Valt caught his breath and said:

“Let’s go down.”

The four slowly descended to the ground.

The demons that had been roaming the air had all disappeared, frightened by the aftermath of the explosion.

The area around Elvenheim was essentially completely cleared.

As they landed near the northern wall of the elven village, the surviving elves all gazed at them with eyes mixing reverence and gratitude.

Some knelt, shedding tears and offering prayers toward the World Tree or the heroes.

Grand Warrior Kiriel approached with his blood-covered body, kneeling on one knee before Valt and bowing deeply.

“Hero… no, savior of the elven race and the Great Forest. Without your courage and strength… we would all have perished here today! How can we ever repay this debt…!”

His voice trembled with emotion.

Valt’s strike had done more than just annihilate the demons—it had breathed new hope and fighting spirit into the despairing elves.

Kiriel, who had already once inspired courage in the elves, shouted again:

“With this person, we can win. Take up your weapons, elves!”

At Kiriel’s cry, the elves erupted in cheers.

“Uwaaaaaaaah!!”

It was a positive change.

Valt looked at his friends and said:

“Let’s recover briefly and then join the battle. We can’t lose this momentum.”

Everyone nodded with solemn faces.

“Yes! Valt! Wait just a moment! I’ll get a fruit from the World Tree from my mother!”

Though it sounded like a precious treasure just by name, Valt didn’t refuse.

“I’d appreciate it.”

***

Meanwhile, at another front on the outskirts of the Western Great Forest.

The continental allied forces, led by Emperor Gehrt von Halkin’s imperial army, were engaged in a fierce struggle against the endless demon legions pouring from the gates of hell.

“What is that tremendous magic? The Tower Master should certainly be in the rear. But could even a Tower Master use such magic?”

At the Emperor’s question, King Jerdin standing beside him smirked.

“Don’t you know, Emperor? That monster from Gerungtu?”

Jerdin, the commander-in-chief of the Eastern Alliance.

He too had formed an alliance and joined the war against demons before the scars from the war with the orcs had even healed.

The Emperor opened his eyes wide and asked:

“The monster of Gerungtu? You mean Valt Gerungtu?”

“Kuk, kuk. Yes. It seems he’s become even more of a monster.”

Though he didn’t understand the exact circumstances, it was clear the situation had improved.

The meteor attack would certainly slow the demons’ reinforcements.

Emperor Gehrt encouraged his forces:

“Maintain formation! Magic artillery units! Adjust coordinates! Concentrate fire on those giant demons!”

With the Emperor’s command, dozens of magic cannons installed by the empire’s elite magic engineering corps simultaneously spewed fire.

Magically condensed shells cut through the sky, exploding in the middle of the demon ranks, turning hundreds of demons to dust simultaneously.

“First Knight Division! Second Knight Division! Charge! Break the demons’ formation!”

The empire’s knights, armored in steel, charged toward the demon ranks with massive shields and battle cries.

Their swords and spears were wrapped in aura, and they pushed the frontline forward with disciplined movements, cutting and piercing through demons.

In the sky, the imperial mage corps supported the battlefield by casting wide-area spells to slow the demons’ advance or protective magic on allied forces.

Although the demons were countless and the legion commander-level demons remained threatening, the allied forces combined with the Emperor’s excellent command were strong.

The systematic use of magical weapons effectively blocked the demons’ wave attacks and expanded their military achievements.

Especially after the unknown massive explosion deep in the Western Great Forest, reports that a large portion of the demon legion had evaporated spread to all forces.

Along with reports that the demonic energy pouring from the gates of hell had momentarily weakened, the morale of the entire allied forces soared to the heavens.

“Look! Even these demons are not invincible! Prove that human strength alone can repel them!”

At the Emperor’s cry, the allied forces pushed back the demons even more valiantly.

The war for the continent’s fate had just begun, but humanity seemed to be seeing the possibility of victory.

But the explosive morale of the allied forces didn’t last long.

KWAAAAAAAA──!!

It was a pillar of ominous purple flame.

An energy incomparably more dense and pure than before, like the very essence of primordial evil, surged from the center of the massive crater Valt had created.

A horrific scream that seemed to tear the sky shook the entire Great Forest once more.

The Emperor’s brow furrowed.

He seemed to know what it was.

“A pillar of demonic energy…. Could it be…?”

***

It was not a simple concentration of demonic energy.

It was an eerie and ominous resonance, as if a being from the abyss was stretching.

Everyone’s gaze instinctively turned to the center of the massive crater.

The heat and dust fog that had been boiling like lava began to clear in an instant, as if some invisible massive force was forcibly sweeping away all the chaos.

And finally, in the deepest bottom of the crater where everything had melted and vanished, in the middle of that land of despair, a single figure stood alone.

“That was quite a rough welcome.”

He was about the size of a human.

Far from the imposing presence of the giant demons that towered over tens of meters.

But the presence emanating from that small form was so overwhelming that it made the seven legion commanders who had been ravaging the battlefield until just now seem like mere dust.

A body covered in pitch-black armor that seemed to absorb even the starlight of the night sky.

On his back were six pairs of massive black wings spread out like the void of the universe itself.

On his head, a pair of twisted black horns like those of a giant mountain goat rose threateningly toward the sky.

His face was hidden in deep shadow, but within that shadow, two blood-red eyes glowed like the flames of hell, slowly surveying the surroundings.

This was the Great Demon,

The Black Devourer of Desire, ‘Zmorael’.

Despite taking the direct hit of Valt’s star of destruction with all his might, he stood there in the center of destruction as casually as if he were out for a stroll.

Not even a tiny scratch was visible on his armor.

His unruffled posture exuded arrogance, as if the recent catastrophe had been nothing more than a raindrop to him.

Zmorael silently surveyed the massive crater where he stood, the burning land around him, and in the distance, the terrified elves and Valt’s party who were barely catching their breath.

The air seemed to distort in fear wherever his gaze fell.

And a faint, cruel smile appeared on his lips.

“Kuk… kukkuk….”

A low, chilling laugh broke the silence.

He spoke as if appreciating the hellish landscape around him, like someone returning to their hometown after a long time:

“I left home tired of this scenery, only to come here and find a view similar to home.”

His voice was extremely calm but filled with the arrogance of an absolute being.

That voice pierced directly into the souls of every living being on the battlefield, delivering an absolute sense of despair that seemed to erase the very word “hope.”

And finally, his gaze fixed precisely on Valt, who was barely catching his breath below the sky.

The two red stars seemed to pierce Valt’s soul.

“It’s been a while since I came to the human realm, and I find something interesting. Kukkuk.”

The momentary hope brought by Valt’s star of destruction now faced an even greater and unavoidable darkness: the advent of the Great Demon.

The elves who had been shouting victory cheers just moments ago could barely breathe, paralyzed by the massive demonic energy and fear.

The distance was too great for their eyes to meet.

Yet Valt felt the gaze of the massive being directed at him.

He unconsciously swallowed hard.

Warnings of danger were ringing wildly throughout his entire body.

‘Should something like that… even be allowed to exist in this world?’

That being was… truly on a different dimension.