Chapter 287: Decisive Battle (3)

“Gyaaaaargh!”

The orc chief—seventh in the demon hierarchy.

With Kuarne as the only remaining Corps Commander, his current combat strength was considered comparable to that of a commander.

“Shield unit, if you can’t advance, fall back! You can’t withstand that—move now!”

The heroes were struggling. His brute strength matched his enormous size, and he occasionally blended in magic attacks with remarkable skill.

His destructive power was such that even five warrior-class tanks couldn’t stop him.

Swoooosh!

A spear extended toward the thick back of his neck. The orc chief twisted his head, narrowly dodging the blade.

If it had been wielded by a mere hero, he wouldn’t have bothered to avoid it—but this attack did not come from a “mere hero.”

“Damn bastard!”

Chanseong shouted with determination.

This time he gripped the shorter spear and struck the ground like a thunderbolt.

The orc chief held his mace in his teeth like a bit, mumbling through clenched jaws.

“Stupid human… facing me head-on. Dumber than I am.”

He crouched down, like a boar about to charge. If he’d just placed his hands on the ground, he could’ve been mistaken for a wild beast. But his body was the size of a mountain.

Boom!

He charged straight ahead. His rear legs dug deep furrows into the earth.

The ground trembled with each step.

With lightning tearing through the sky, the battlefield was absolute chaos.

“He looks like a mountain running.”

Chanseong was large for a human—two heads taller than the average adult.

But that was only compared to other humans. No human could match a mountain. From a distance, their clash looked like a child facing off against a monster.

Man versus beast. But even the small have their ways of fighting—like David striking down Goliath with a sling.

Chanseong veered sideways, changing direction at a right angle. Due to his speed, the inertia tore at his legs.

Crunch.

His calf muscles and tendons likely tore. If he’d been as heavy as the giant boar, it wouldn’t have been possible.

But he managed to move his body by will alone—and that was what mattered.

He closed in on the orc chief in an instant but had already sidestepped just enough.

Chanseong shouted.

“Kojima!”

His back shifted to reveal a clear line of sight.

Kojima, kneeling, drew his longbow to its maximum. The veins on his hand bulged like ropes.

He released the arrow. The tip gleamed in the sunlight, trailing a streak of light. The bow snapped from the force of the shot.

“Grrraaaaaah!”

The sacrifice of the bow paid off. The orc chief was struck directly in his left eye and staggered. The mace he was biting dropped to the ground, dripping with saliva.

Kojima clicked his tongue and flexed his numb hand.

“I aimed to crack his skull… but it wasn’t enough.”

Still, this was no ordinary demon. He was number seven. Even if Kojima unleashed his full power, one shot wasn’t enough to kill him.

But that didn’t mean it had no effect. The orc chief writhed, clutching half his face.

The arrow had pierced his eye and was near his brain.

In his agony, he was vulnerable.

A straight sword floated through the air. It was the Swordmaster’s technique. Slash! The blade cut through the air and struck his green throat. But his skin was thick—it didn’t pierce completely.

The Swordmaster ran up and caught the hilt midair. He reversed his grip and drove it in forcefully. Bluish-green blood splattered across his face.

He grimaced. His hands and the blade trembled from resistance.

“You’re not going down that easy, huh?”

The orc chief had blocked the blow with his palm. Instantly, with his other hand, he yanked out the arrow—eye and all.

Optic nerves and brain matter came with it. He shoved it into his mouth and chewed greedily.

“My name… is Hahudon… and now I am reborn as a true warrior! GRAAAAAAAH!”

He roared with such force that nearby heroes’ eardrums burst. The Swordmaster, perched on his face, bled from the eyes.

“Damn monster.”

That was the true difference between humans and demons. It wasn’t just magic—they simply didn’t tire. And this was on human turf. They were incredibly belligerent. Almost admirable.

‘Looks like I have no choice.’

The Swordmaster hesitated. If he awakened his power again, his body would reach its limit. He would die.

He knew that better than anyone. He had lived seventy years in that body.

Dying on the battlefield was an honor for a warrior. Even thinking of Abel, he knew Kang Geom-Ma would be by his side. If he was the man his granddaughter chose, he could die in peace.

‘I’m not afraid of death.’

The problem wasn’t what came after—it was the moment of death itself. If he fell, morale among the heroes would crumble. Even if Heavenly Sword fought brilliantly, it wouldn’t last. In a war of attrition, humanity was at a disadvantage. That damned orc was proof of it.

At that moment, the orc chief’s belly shuddered. He was about to leap up.

The Swordmaster stopped hesitating. He tensed his body, veins bulging.

He concentrated energy at the sword’s tip. He awakened the technique etched into his bones.

Then—two figures dropped from the sky. Media and Meain. They landed with mirrored extended legs, like perfect reflections.

The Swordmaster barely dodged aside—but the orc chief couldn’t. The Poison twins’ high heels pierced through his eye socket and into his brain. In both humans and demons, the brain was fatal.

“GYAGYAGYAGYAGYAAARGH!”

A deafening scream erupted. With their other foot, the twins stomped into his mouth, shredding it from within. The attack was perfectly synchronized.

Splat!

A geyser of blood shot out. The Poison twins were drenched up to their knees.

From the orc chief’s open mouth, frothy blood bubbled. His twitching fingers, clawing at air, fell still.

Soon after, his raised arms—each as large as an adult man—dropped heavily to the ground with a dull thud.

Seventh in the demon hierarchy. A key pillar of demon military strength, the orc chief, Hahudon. Dead.

As soon as he fell, the nearby heroes regained their momentum.

Though human physical endurance couldn’t match the demons, their morale and mental strength more than compensated. Their faces lit with energy.

“The Seven Stars killed the orc chieeeef!”

“Uooooooohhhhhh!”

The heroes began pushing back the demons. Thanks to the coordinated assault, they landed numerous effective hits.

Several demon units couldn’t hold out and began collapsing.

Crackle—!

Amid the chaos, lightning continued striking demons alone. In every sense, the tide was turning in humanity’s favor.

“Siegfried, you were about to use your awakening, weren’t you?”

Meain playfully shook a leg before resting a hand on her hip. The rest of the Seven Stars gathered around.

“What did I tell you during training? Don’t always go for the easy way out.”

“If you and Media hadn’t shown up, I had no choice.”

The Swordmaster retorted. Meain coldly cut him off.

“No choice? The orc chief was comparable to Basmon, the sixth commander. But you’re several times stronger than you were then, and you were going to use your awakening? Don’t talk nonsense. You’ve always been craftier than you look. That’s why Media always calls you an ‘old mule.’”

“…”

“Did you screw up or not?”

At his master’s scolding, the Swordmaster finally sighed.

“I acted rashly. I won’t consider awakening again unless it’s truly critical.”

“No, don’t even think about it. Even I, as an Ancient, barely consider using it anymore…”

Before Meain could finish her sentence, all of the Seven Stars simultaneously looked up. They sensed a terrifying presence approaching.

“What the hell…?”

A yellow-tailed shooting star was drawing near. At its tip was the hero, Leon van Reinhardt.

“What is he doing…?”

Those among the Seven Stars who knew Leon froze like statues. That’s why they were a second too late to react to his slash.

The spiritual energy he released, combined with the lightning magic of Heavenly Sword, enveloped the strike. It was a technique that fully utilized Balmung, the sacred and cursed sword.

「Thunder Reversal」

A bolt of lightning fell from the sky onto the heroes who were fighting. Believing the sky was on their side, they were completely unprepared.

Boom! Crash!

Boom, boom, boom!

A barrage of attacks rained down upon them—so fast there was barely time to react.

But there’s always someone who remains calm even in such moments. This time, it was Kojima, the absolute archer.

Since he didn’t know Leon, he wasn’t thrown off.

His temperament was inherently composed.

Kojima drew a new bow from his dimensional ring. By the time Leon’s sword swung, his bow was already strung taut.

In an instant, over a dozen arrows shot from his hands and intercepted the lightning mid-trajectory.

Whizz—

For the first time in his life, he acted to protect others. It was an act of altruism.

A concept he understood intellectually but had never truly grasped.

In that instant, when time seemed to freeze and the lightning moved in slow motion, Kojima’s pupils recalled the past.

— Why do heroes have to sacrifice their lives for humanity? Shouldn’t they protect their own lives first?

A question he once posed to Alice. The place? Right here—Joaquin Academy.

— Because someone has to bear that burden.

Perhaps because of the setting, it felt as if she herself were answering.

— Because we have more power. We can endure it better.

After forty years, that blurry face finally appeared clearly.

— Kojima, one day you’ll understand these words.

A faint smile appeared on Kojima’s face.

Blood burst forth. His side was torn open, likely his internal organs shredded.

Because of that, none of the incoming attacks hit any other hero—except for one, aimed solely at him.

Just before his back hit the ground, a hand gently supported him.

A face appeared faintly in his vision. His sight was cloudy, indistinguishable. But it looked far too much like someone he had longed to see.

“For humanity…”

Saki Kojima managed a faint smile and whispered a few words. A line of blood stretched from his chin to his chest.

“…Please… protect my family.”

Kojima’s eyes slowly closed.

Heavenly Sword gazed at him in silence for a long moment before finally closing his eyelids.

He laid him down gently, then turned his gaze elsewhere.
Leon had already landed on the ground.

“Saki Kojima was a man who deserved to die.”

Leon spoke. His gaze was unsteady.

“True.”

Kang Geom-Ma accepted the words without objection. But his expression was as cold as a statue.

“The same goes for you.”

The eyes of the Demon King, from the depths of the abyss, locked onto the hero.