Ch.233Chapter 233: A New Era (5).

# Chapter 233: A New Era (5)

As Zmorael’s true power was revealed, the four Grand Master heroes were being pushed back helplessly under pressure incomparable to before.

Herb King Elios suppressed the pain of his severed toes through sheer willpower while desperately casting recovery and enhancement spells on his companions from the rear.

However, the pure demonic energy Zmorael emitted covered the battlefield with a sticky presence, as if trying to contaminate even his sacred herbal aura.

Fist King Lycan was already battered all over his body.

His proud Heaven-Breaking Fist couldn’t even properly scratch Zmorael’s pitch-black armor—or rather, it did leave scratches, but they recovered with ghostly speed.

That fact brought even greater despair.

Struck by fragments of spatial distortion that came as counterattacks, several of his ribs seemed broken, causing extreme pain with each breath.

Nevertheless, he roared and swung his fist once more.

“Arrrgh! You monster! I won’t fall until I smash your head!”

But his cry was nothing more than an empty echo.

Sword Saint Arka’s blade had clearly cut through Zmorael’s movements several times, but again, the wounds regenerated effortlessly the moment they were inflicted.

The tip of his sword trembled slightly. It was the first perfect wall he had encountered in his life.

“Damn that body…”

Spear Master Valerius was in the same situation.

Near the northern wall of the elven village, Valt stood momentarily forgetting the onslaught of other demons, staring in disbelief at this incredible scene unfolding in the distance.

The heroes called the strongest on the continent were being toyed with like children before this single greater demon.

The explosions of aura and power they desperately unleashed looked as insignificant as fireflies before the massive darkness that was Zmorael.

‘So this… is a greater demon!’

Behind him, waves of demons continued to surge toward the elven village like tides.

Valt’s companions were engaged in a literal bloodbath alongside the elven warriors led by Grand Warrior Kiriel.

Although many of the demon legion’s forces had been annihilated by Valt’s Star of Destruction, the remaining demons were powerful.

With Zmorael’s appearance, their morale seemed to have grown even more ferocious.

“Damn it! There’s no end to them!”

Solpin shouted as she cut down three demons simultaneously with her claymore. Her body was already stained with the dark red blood of demons.

“Instead of complaining, kill one more!!”

Yuria screamed sharply as she tore out a demon’s throat with her teeth.

Her eyes were already half-consumed by madness.

Valt’s golden pupils were engulfed in deep anguish.

‘Can I… can I fight alongside them? Can I stand against that monster with those heroes?’

8th circle mana, physical strength of 500, the physical-magical amplification amulet, the power of the highest-grade elemental Noares.

Though he had become incomparably stronger than before, Zmorael’s power that he had just witnessed seemed to transcend all of that.

A being beyond the realm of common sense.

At that moment, an image flashed through his mind like lightning.

His ultimate technique that he had forgotten—or rather, sealed deep in his subconscious.

The Five-Source Fusion Fist.

The five fundamental powers existing within him.

Physical strength, aura, elemental power, mana, and life force—a technique that stepped into the forbidden realm by fusing these five powers into one, elevating them to the extreme and causing them to explode.

That overwhelming destructive power that had once annihilated a Death Knight with a single blow.

But the recoil was also beyond imagination, leaving him unable to properly control his body for a while—truly a gamble that risked everything.

‘But… if it’s now…’

With his mana expanded to the 8th circle, his strengthened body, and the amplification power of the amulet, perhaps… perhaps he could withstand the recoil and exert even greater power than before.

With that, he calculated that he could inflict a critical wound on that incomprehensible greater demon, if only for a moment.

Once resolved, Valt’s eyes gleamed coldly.

He urgently called out to everyone.

“Arias! Lilith! And everyone! I leave the defense here to you for a while! I… I must go defeat that demon.”

Arias looked at him with a pale face.

She seemed to vaguely guess what Valt was planning to do.

They too had confirmed the existence of the greater demon.

“Valt! But that’s… that’s too dangerous!”

“I know. But I can’t just stand by and watch. If we don’t finish it, the continent is doomed.”

Arias and Lilith realized they couldn’t stop Valt.

This dependable and great Gerung had never once backed down.

No matter how powerful the enemy, he would face them and eventually achieve victory.

Arias and Lilith didn’t insist on going with him this time.

They simply nodded silently, respecting his decision.

“Don’t you dare die, Valt.”

Nodding, Valt said nothing more and launched himself using Lilith’s specialty, platform magic.

***

The four Grand Masters were on the verge of defeat.

And Zmorael maintained his smile.

There was no chance of victory like this.

Just as the four heroes were cautiously watching Zmorael while spitting blood, an unpleasant emotion appeared on Zmorael’s face for the first time.

“Tsk, something filthy approaches.”

At that moment.

A majestic and clear cry resonated from the sky, as if to swallow all the noise of the battlefield and the roars of demons.

“To this land consumed by darkness, the mercy and judgment light of the divine!”

CRASH!!!

A pure and sacred platinum light, so dazzling it was almost painful, poured down from the sky like a waterfall.

The light precisely struck the battlefield where Zmorael and the four heroes were fighting.

The dark red demonic energy covering the area melted like snow upon contact with the sacred light, burning away like smoke, and even Zmorael slightly furrowed his brow at the unexpected ambush of divine power, taking a step back.

As the pillar of light gradually subsided, a beautiful woman with a sacred and benevolent smile, wearing a snow-white robe and holding a golden scepter shining brighter than the sun, slowly descended from the sky.

Though alone, her presence was overwhelming.

The holy knights following her were already positioned strategically.

“The Holy Maiden…! The Holy Maiden Seraphina from the Great Temple has arrived!”

Herb King Elios exclaimed with a voice mixed with admiration and relief.

His severed toes were instantly healed by the Holy Maiden’s divine power.

A miracle impossible with human abilities.

A new flame of hope began to burn in his eyes.

One of the continent’s seven heroes, Holy Maiden Seraphina of the Northern Great Temple.

She had already foreseen this crisis and was heading to the Great Forest with the blessing of the divine and her elite holy knights.

And just now, the Archmage, who had sensed her presence from the distant imperial army camp, had instantly brought her to this desperate battlefield through ultra-long-range spatial magic support.

“It’s been a while, heroes. And… vile creature of darkness who dares to defile this world.”

Holy Maiden Seraphina’s voice was as gentle as a spring breeze, but the sacred power it contained held absolute majesty that seemed to purify even Zmorael’s demonic energy and deny his very existence.

With her appearance, waves of pure white divine power spread in all directions, pushing away the surrounding demonic energy and bestowing warm healing light upon the four wounded heroes.

Lycan’s broken ribs healed, and Arka and Valerius’s torn wounds recovered instantly.

“My… what an annoying power. Don’t they ever get tired of this?”

Zmorael muttered in a low voice, showing explicit displeasure for the first time.

Black smoke rose from the surface of his pitch-black armor with a hissing sound, as if resisting the Holy Maiden’s divine power.

With the Holy Maiden’s joining, the four heroes became five.

Her divine power held absolute advantage over demonic energy, and her healing and protection magic instantly breathed new strength and courage into the exhausted heroes.

“I will support you! Strike down this great evil!”

The five heroes regrouped and began to launch fierce counterattacks against Zmorael.

Their attacks, enhanced with divine power, were much more powerful and precise than before, beginning to inflict clear damage on Zmorael’s black armor.

Sacred flames erupted whenever the Fist King’s punches connected, silver flashes dwelled in the Sword Saint’s blade path, and purifying lightning crackled from the tip of the Spear Master’s spear.

The Herb King now more actively strengthened and supported the heroes.

For a while, the battlefield seemed to be in perfect balance, like a mythical battle between the five heroes and the greater demon Zmorael.

Sacred light and dark red demonic energy violently collided in the sky and on the ground, shaking heaven and earth.

“We can win!!”

The Holy Maiden’s cry.

But ominously, Zmorael still hadn’t lost his smile.

The Holy Maiden’s appearance clearly gave him considerable displeasure and restriction, but the source of his power seemed connected to an unimaginable abyss, showing no signs of depletion.

“Kuk kuk… The sight of mortals struggling and shining is always enjoyable. But… that’s all you have, and that’s your limit. How long can you last, you pitiful fireflies?”

As he said, though the five heroes seemed to be fighting on equal terms with the greater demon Zmorael, their aura, mana, and divine power were noticeably being consumed, gradually weakening their momentum.

Especially on the face of Holy Maiden Seraphina, who had just poured out tremendous power to descend, beads of cold sweat were already forming along with a pale complexion.

“Impossible…!”

Zmorael continued to smile.

“Kuk kuk, I am one of only six greater demons in the demon realm. Even if those wretched gods themselves descended, it wouldn’t be enough, yet you try to stop me with mere fragments of their power? What a hilarious comedy. Hahaha!!”

A new variable was desperately needed to change the tide of battle.

But Emperor Gehrt and King Zerdin couldn’t come here as they were maintaining the continental allied forces’ front line against the main demon legion, and the Archmage and Palace God were also engaged in desperate battles with legion commander-level demons on other fronts.

Each legion commander-level demon possessed power that surpassed or rivaled a Grand Master, making it impossible for the heroes to concentrate all their forces in one place—a desperate situation.

And humans who could inflict effective attacks on the greater demon Zmorael… throughout the entire continent, only these five gathered here would be capable.

Gradually, the coordination of the five heroes dulled, and cracks began to appear in their defensive line once again.

Zmorael’s attacks intensified once more, this time directly targeting the weakened Holy Maiden Seraphina.

Black demonic tentacles extending from his hand tried to wrap around her ankles amid screams.

“Holy Maiden!”

Fist King Lycan desperately lunged to protect her, but was struck squarely in the side by another unexpected demonic whip from Zmorael, screaming and spitting blood as he was thrown far away.

At this critical moment.

BOOM!!!

With a tremendous roar that seemed to instantly swallow all the noise of the battlefield, something mixed with a huge golden flash of light struck down like lightning from the sky, splitting the space between Zmorael and the Holy Maiden.

The shockwave alone was incredibly powerful.

Had they not been extraordinary beings transcending common sense, they might have been injured.

Even Zmorael momentarily halted his attack and frowned, stepping back at the unexpected intrusion.

As the storm of dust and magical power cleared, Valt stood there.

His eyes burned with a more intense solemnity than ever before.

Zmorael’s red pupils fixed precisely on Valt.

“…So it’s you. The annoying insect who put on that trivial fireworks display earlier.”

His voice carried contempt along with a very subtle but definite wariness for the first time.

Looking at the greater demon before him, Valt felt a surge of fighting spirit.

This crazy Gerung race—even in the face of absolute despair and powerful opponents, his heart raced, craving battle.

A smile formed on Valt’s lips, revealing his neat white teeth.

“Kuk kuk, a greater demon? Let’s see what you’ve got, you bastard.”