The war situation changed greatly after Kraugel emerged. First of all, the gates of the fortress were wide open. The soldiers of the Haken Kingdom stopped waiting for the demons on the walls and emerged from the fortress. They stood in the winding paths of the canyon and helped Kraugel’s group fight the demons. No longer crouching like a tortoise, the soldiers swarmed bravely toward the demons like beasts.

“Die! Damn demons!”

“Go to hell!”

“Disappear from our land!!”

It was a fierce counterattack. The advance of the demon army started to be pushed back little by little. Now the demons weren’t close to the walls. The durability of the walls, which decreased every time the acid and fire demons climbed the walls, slowly started to recover. It was just like Zibal’s stamina.

“Artillerymen, cover!”

Above the walls, Zibal briefly withdrew from the battlefield while his stamina was recovering and directed the soldiers. He used to be a noble of the Haken Kingdom, was the former leader of the Seven Guilds, and was now a soldier of the empire. Consequently, his commanding ability was excellent. Every time the guards and artillerymen fired at Zibal’s orders, allies on the battlefield were saved. Of course, not everyone could be protected.

“Cover! Cover fire!”

“Ah, I’m still loading!”

“Dammit!”

The weapon called the bow was too heavily influenced by the archer’s skill and the wind direction. The cannon also had a fatal weakness, which was that they couldn’t be fired immediately. Zibal and his soldiers were forced to watch as the demons grabbed the soldiers. Every time this happened, they felt great anger and hatred. They held a terrible killing intent toward the main culprit, Berith.

‘Son of a bitch.’ Zibal’s gaze turned to a small battlefield on the horizon.

Far from the battlefield beneath the walls, a fierce battle was occurring between Berith, Kirinus, and Rachel. Kirinus’ spear moved like flowing water, while Rachel’s spear boasted explosive energy that was like a dragon’s breath. At first glance, the two spears pressured Berith.

Berith tried to counter their attacks, defending against their tactics with alchemy. Kirinus’ and Rachel’s intangible wills didn’t allow Berith’s alchemy to form. Berith’s alchemy was shattered every time it was cast. 

The dance of alchemy...

The helpless Berith reached a point where he had to pull out the sword hanging from his waist. Berith blocked Rachel’s red spear with a crude sword and rolled his pupil-free white eyes. It was as if he was laughing.

““The power of thought isn’t infinite.””

There was a limit to mental power. Kirinus and Rachel might be two of the strongest beings on the continent, but it was still a burden for them to use their intangible wills in succession. In fact, the speed at which their intangible wills dispersed Berith’s alchemy was slowing down. If this continued, Berith’s alchemy creation speed would surpass the speed at which they formed their intangible wills. No, they were both likely to self-destruct before they could catch up with the speed.

Kirinus’ and Rachel’s foreheads were already covered with sweat. Even so, Kirinus and Rachel didn’t care.

“Our purpose—”

“—isn’t to knock you down.”

“We’ll do it appropriately.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

““....?””

The two of them had spent almost three months together. Kirinus and Rachel had met each other on a daily basis and acknowledged the other as a rival. They didn’t forget why they were standing in front of Berith now. This was only a game. It was important to know who dealt more damage to Berith, but they had no plans to lay down their lives for Berith. They would act moderately in this situation. Kirinus and Rachel had no intention of dying in this place. Still, if possible...

‘I will stay as long as I can.’

This race was far from the concept of training and performance. The two people used their innate strength to deflect Berith’s clumsy sword and stabbed their spears. Then they glanced back. Far away, Kraugel was struggling with the demons along with his companions.

Kirinus and Rachel wanted to buy as much time as possible for Kraugel. They planned to hold on to the great demon until Kraugel defeated the demon army. For Kirinus, Kraugel was his only disciple and friend. For Rachel, Kraugel was fairly interesting to observe and he captivated the hearts of her knights.

‘I can’t let him die in a place like this.’

Kirinus and Rachel nodded. The two people competed with perfectly equal skills. Those who acknowledged and respected each other let their backs face each other’s.

“Moonrise Spear Secret Technique."

"Dehakel 5th style."

"Eclipse.” Kirinus’s spear moved in a circle and swallowed up the light around it. The path couldn’t be read. 

“Salamander!” Rachel’s spear moved in a straight line and emitted a yellow flame. It obviously couldn’t be stopped.

““....!”” Berith’s eyes widened.

Without knowing it, his heart started to burn, and he screamed.

『 B-Berith’s health has been greatly reduced! 』 The commentators from each country gulped as they relayed the situation, and all the chat rooms were boiling over.

Emoticons such as surprise, thumbs up, and applause bombarded the chat. The skill of Kirinus and Rachel were greater than the rumors claimed. The two people broke the concept of the ‘strongest’ in the minds of the public. The people realized that even the farmer of Overgeared, who had been active in the Belial raid a few years ago, was merely trash in front of them. This was natural because the people couldn’t properly predict how much Piaro had grown over the years.

“I think I hit him harder.”

“It was only possible because I exposed his weakness.”

“In any case, didn’t I do more damage?”

“It is possible because of me so my contribution was higher.”

“Do you have such thick skin?”

“That is you.”

Kirinus and Rachel bickered while pushing back the bleeding Berith. It was a childish argument, but it was important for them. This was because the direction of the battle could determine the problem that hadn’t been resolved for more than two months.

Two spears hit Berith’s chin and side. The shocked Berith fell from the horse, and his face slammed into the ground. Berith’s dry and elongated body twitched from the pain. The great demon was like this in front of only two humans. Kirinus and Rachel were easily able to achieve meaningful results when tens of thousands of challengers had died because of Berith.

It was due to a difference in level. Just as it was pointless for hundreds of level 100 players to go against a level 300 player, the thing that mattered in Satisfy was strength, not numbers. Both Kirinus and Rachel were better than the thousands of rankers who faced the top boss. It would be hard if the thousands of rankers had to fight against both Kirinus and Rachel.

Well, in any case. Kirinus and Rachel weren’t too nervous about Great Demon Berith. It was the reason why the Saharan Empire hadn’t acted when the Overgeared Kingdom raided Belial. For an empire that had a large number of powerful people, there was no need to fear the great demons.

Of course, this was just arrogance. Hadn’t the empire already suffered a crushing defeat because of Astaroth? The great demons were the nemesis of humanity. They were never easy opponents.

““...You guys,”” Berith said, chewing the soil in his mouth as he slowly raised his elongated body. He asked Kirinus and Rachel, who were standing side by side, ““Aren’t you mistaken about something? You are just my prey.””

“Hah?” Rachel frowned. Naturally, she knew this. She knew that she and Kirinus had a very short time to gain an advantage over Berith. Once a little more time passed, they would run out of skills and stamina, and the situation would gradually reverse. However, not yet. After all, they still had an overwhelming advantage. They could take the lead in the battle because they sealed the alchemy that was Berith’s main force. That’s what Rachel thought.

““The two of you, aren’t you already dying?””

“...?”

Berith’s power wasn’t only alchemy. His true power was the ability to lie, and his lies deceived the entire world.

“Cough!?” Rachel cocked her head at the absurd remark, only to cough up blood. Her clear skin was covered in blood. Her entire body was full of wounds that she had suffered without her knowledge. Kirinus was the same. When had his legs gotten cut? Kirinus sat on the ground and gazed at the wounds on his legs. The sight of the blood soaking into the earth was imprinted in his mind. The soil that Berith was chewing on turned into metal in his mouth. Dozens of sharp nails filled his mouth.

““I told you. Mental power isn’t infinite. The mental power of lower-minded humans is quickly drained.””

At this moment...

“...!?”

Rachel’s wounds disappeared without a trace. The various pains that accompanied the wounds disappeared like they were a lie. The same was true for the deep wounds on Kirinus’ legs. Kirinus rose from his position, and the blood staining the earth was erased as if they had never been there. The world itself had been deceived. Berith’s lies lost their effect.

Rachel and Kirinus realized that what they just experienced was an illusion and hurriedly adjusted their spears. However, it was too late. Berith spat out the dozens of nails filling his mouth and turned the bodies of the two people into rags. This was reality, not a lie.

“Ugh...!” Blood flowed from their bodies, and the nailed Kirinus and Rachel stiffened briefly. They temporarily lost their senses. Berith didn’t miss this gap.

““Hahaha, humans are really simple.”” 

He grinned as he transformed everything around him into metal. Dozens of sharp blades were quickly created and aimed at Kirinus and Rachel.

““Die.””

Berith didn’t waste time. He neatly dealt with all obstacles in front of him at a quick speed. The great demon didn’t delay as he moved his sword and tore at Rachel’s and Kirinus’ bodies.

『 T-This is ridiculous... 』

The commentators around the world confirmed Kirinus’ and Rachel’s rapidly decreasing health gauges. The viewers lost the small hope they had just obtained and sat down with a sense of helplessness.

‘Berith won’t be defeated until the Saharan Empire comes out.’

The experts made a prediction. Kirinus and Rachel lost their composure and were now busy protecting their lives. Those who were watching the two people struggle to avoid Berith’s rain of blades abandoned their vain dreams.