Ch.67XX Tina (12)

XX Tina (12)

“Haah……”

A battle of endurance.

The fight between the Hero’s party and the former Corps Commander, Lieutenant General Haona, was intensifying.

Haona also knew what the Hero’s party was aiming for.

And knowing meant he could counter it.

Yes, that’s what he should do, but…

‘I guess I’m not the only one running out of options…’

The sand Haona manipulated wasn’t something he created from nothing. He had simply crushed nearby rocks and pebbles into sand with his own hands to control them.

Therefore, if he wanted to, he could replenish the sand as much as needed.

Even if the opponent melted the sand and made him lose control, he could simply create new sand.

But there was no time for that.

Even if he tried to grind more rocks into sand, all the sand he could currently move was being used to block the Hero party’s fierce attacks, leaving nothing to spare.

The fire magic that the Mage, Millia, had begun to pour out in earnest forced Haona to defend against a wide area.

Moreover, the Hero Esmeralda’s sword occasionally pierced through the sand, aiming for Haona’s heart, so he had to solidify his defense.

“Huff!”

Confined space. Heated air.

Both sides were losing stamina moment by moment in an environment that made everyone uncomfortable.

It was still a battle of endurance. The only difference was that the time limit had become extremely short.

‘The sand…’

Haona frowned as he looked at the sand that had already turned red and black.

Despite moving the sand as fluidly as possible to disperse the heat, the state of the sand was gradually beginning to change.

Plop. Sizzzzle!

Lava that had escaped Haona’s control made a sound as it touched the ground.

The sand was melting.

Since there was a big difference in how to control solids and liquids, Haona had to be wary of the gradually decreasing number of sand particles.

“Indeed, you’re a worthy opponent! But with just that level, you couldn’t have defeated Five!”

“Kuk!”

Esmeralda blocked the sand, which was already hot enough to be unbearable for a human body, with her ice magic sword and swallowed hard.

Even breathing was painful.

If she hadn’t protected her body with Eirene’s divine magic.

If she hadn’t resisted the heat with the magic sword of Glacies Tower.

She might have already been burned by the heat of the sand.

It was heat that intensified as time passed, and even at its peak, she would have to endure for some time before an opportunity would appear.

‘I must endure!’

And even if that opportunity came, there was no guarantee of defeating the opponent.

It was literally just an opportunity. Not a chance to gain the upper hand, but an action to exploit even the slightest opening in the opponent.

And…

“We never said we were the ones who defeated Five.”

“Ha! You’ve shown your true colors! You finally confess that you villainously joined hands with Lieutenant General Lilith!”

“No, who joined hands with whom! You madman!”

Haona thought that Lilith and the Hero’s party had joined forces to trap Corps Commander Five.

There was no evidence.

But he needed to believe it.

‘That’s the only way to ease my resentment!’

Despite having blindly served the Demon King’s army all his life, he had his name taken away and his position stripped. This resentment wouldn’t be resolved unless he gave Lilith a good beating.

‘The same goes for His Majesty! He needs to realize that he can’t act like a child forever, and this is the opportunity for him to understand that!’

Loyal advice born from resentment.

Haona snickered as he imagined the Demon King Belphegor apologizing to him and dismissing Lilith.

Such an ugly inner thought.

Haona recalled all the hardships he had experienced throughout his life.

Lilith was a coward.

Setting aside her superior appearance, she was also skilled and had a good personality?

Don’t make me laugh. Such a being couldn’t exist. There must be some flaw somewhere, and Haona believed it was Lilith’s dishonesty.

Of course, it was a well-founded assumption.

Since his school days, when his glasses were locked, he couldn’t wear them.

After being doused with water while eating alone in the bathroom, he always carried an umbrella.

He had legitimate assumptions based on such experiences.

But beyond such humiliation and hardship, he finally succeeded. He rose to the position of Corps Commander in the Demon King’s army.

What about his classmates?

His peers from the same military academy were far below him, weren’t they?

The world is fair.

It has to be. Otherwise, his youth would be too unjust.

‘I am several times more competent than that woman! I’m not someone who should suffer such humiliation from such a parachute appointment!’

He wanted the satisfaction he felt when he commanded the peers who had bullied him.

Lilith needed to be disciplined.

It was absurd that she had obtained the position he had sacrificed his school days to achieve, simply because she was a relative of the Demon King.

In Haona’s mind, Lilith’s image overlapped with the group that had bullied him during his school days.

It was something the person in question would find not only unjust but also absurd if they heard it, but Haona already thought of himself as justice.

“I will never lose to you!”

Kwaaaaa!

He doesn’t forget those humiliations.

The time his personal combat boots were stolen.

The time he wasn’t informed of the training ground’s location and got scolded.

The sorrow of having to eat without cucumbers, his favorite, to avoid making noise while eating in the bathroom!

He burns all those memories and sorrows as fuel for battle.

“No, why are you directing that at us…!”

Esmeralda shouted at the attack filled with all that sadness.

She couldn’t help but refute such a gloomy venting.

But because of that, Esmeralda forgot to breathe for a moment and was directly hit by Lieutenant General Haona’s strike of sorrow.

“Kuk! As expected of a Corps Commander…!”

To think he would trap her with such a petty surface psychology!

Esmeralda couldn’t help but tremble again at the Corps Commander’s prowess.

“Behold! And feel it deeply! This is the power I gained by abandoning relationships with people!”

Fwasasasasasa!!

The sand surged.

Esmeralda was stepping back against the sand wave due to her momentary slip.

But if she retreated any further, Eirene and Millia, who were supporting from the rear, would be in a dangerous position.

Esmeralda gritted her teeth and resisted the wave.

“Haah……”

It’s hot. Sweat pours like rain.

And it’s painful.

Even breathing feels like her throat is burning.

It’s hard to open her eyes properly. It’s unbearable because her eyeballs seem to have dried up, making them sticky.

But she endures.

She just endlessly endures.

Even now, Millia is casting fire magic towards the sand. She’s continuously deploying magic even while bleeding from her nose.

And Eirene is pouring out divine magic to keep Esmeralda alive.

She might have even dismantled her own protective barrier to support Esmeralda, as Eirene was also sweating profusely along with Millia.

Even though they might be conscienceless and individualistic, they are the Hero’s party.

They know they can’t let the Hero, Esmeralda, collapse here.

Because they would be next!

“The weak form groups. It proves that the lone, noble warrior is truly strong!”

Haona’s principle.

If she hadn’t read his surface psychology, she might have thought he was just an arrogant demon, but Esmeralda couldn’t help but find his statement endlessly sad.

If her eyes weren’t dry from the heat, a tear might have rolled down.

“Haaaaaaaa!”

Esmeralda stepped forward, going against the sand wave.

Her skin is peeled and burned by the sand brushing against her sides.

She’s decided to accept some sacrifices to break through the front.

“Not a chance!”

Noticing that Esmeralda was trying to break through a single point, Haona immediately began to move the sand to wrap around her.

It was a truly natural transition, like flowing water.

Regardless of his personality, it’s hard to deny that he possesses strength befitting a Corps Commander.

“I wonder what expression Lilith will make when I bring you to her!”

The sand engulfs Esmeralda.

The sand, which has trapped Esmeralda like a sphere, rotates fiercely, while Esmeralda’s holy sword and other swords that protrude through the sand are trying hard to block the flow.

But it’s clearly a matter of time.

A few swords can’t block the sand that Haona controls.

“……”

Millia hesitated. Currently, Haona’s sand is wrapped around Esmeralda. Is it okay to cast the fire magic she had been continuously pouring towards such sand?

If she’s not careful, she might melt Esmeralda before melting the sand.

“Huhahahahaha! Comrades are truly fleeting things!”

Haona was confident in his victory.

Being alone is indeed stronger. He once again imprinted in his heart that he didn’t make friends not because he couldn’t, but because he chose not to.

But…

“Your back is wide open.”

Stab!

Haona suddenly felt a burning pain from his back.

“A commander shouldn’t wander alone in a place where there might be assassins.”

The thief of the Hero’s party… no, the archaeologist Tina.

For her, who was originally just a slightly elegant grave robber, moving while suppressing her presence like an assassin was a simple task.

“Kuk!”

He was stabbed. Haona belatedly understood this fact from Tina’s words.

The dagger pierced his back and was drawn downward, leaving a wound.

Although the depth was shallow and the range narrow, Haona, who was originally a rear position, couldn’t endure it.

“Cowardly, attacking in numbers…!”

It’s the same this time too.

He’s confident in a 1:1 fight. But those who bullied him always moved in groups and tormented him. They’re very cowardly.

“I wonder where the person who said he was strong because he was alone went.”

Slash!

Thanks to Tina’s sneak attack, Haona’s concentration faltered, greatly shaking his control ability, and Esmeralda was able to escape from the sand prison.

For someone who had escaped from the extremely dry sand, she was drenched in sweat as if she had been caught in the rain.

“Phew……”

She really thought she was going to die.

And all because of the opponent’s absurd surface psychology.

Esmeralda decided to show Haona, who had given her such humiliation, the respect he deserved.

“Friendless loser.”

“I’ll tear you to pieces and throw you to the dogs as food!!”

The effect was definite.