Chapter 41 Overwhelming Strength

Meanwhile, just outside the ruins—

“Hold the line! Keep the formation tight—shields up! Don’t let them near our Hero! Keep the demon warriors busy!”

Around Liora, the clash of steel and howling magic rang out. Demon foot soldiers surged toward the royal knights. Her mages stood behind the front lines, channeling barrier spells, protecting the knights from incoming fire.

“Incoming volley—prepare shield reinforcement! On my mark—now!”

A glowing dome flared to life above their heads just as a barrage of magic projectiles came screaming down from the demon casters. The blast struck the barrier but held. Dust flew. Knights dug in. The line bent but didn’t break.

Between battle commands, Liora’s gaze lifted toward the ruins. She could see flashes of light ripping through the crumbled gate.

Rein.

He was already deep inside, clashing with the Demon Lord’s generals. Then, her eyes shifted slightly—and there she was.

The Demon Lord.

On the far side of the ruins, stood a lone figure weaving sigils in the air, slowly restoring the fractured teleportation circle beneath her feet. Each glowing rune re-formed. She was nearly done.

"Too fast. She’ll finish before we can push through."

Liora gritted her teeth and turned her attention back to the fight around her.

“Stay sharp! Don’t give them an inch! We need to push forward!”

Even if Rein was inside, they still had to survive out here.

------------

Mari, Selene, and Kaia had barely caught their breath from chasing after Rein when suddenly the ground in front of them erupted in a violent blast. Smoke rolled outward, forcing them to cover their eyes from dust.

From within the smoke, two silhouettes emerged — one tall and handsome, his sharp tuxedo smooth like polished obsidian, eyes glowing faintly yellow. The other was slimmer, violet hair whipping behind her, a long spear in hand, curved horns framing her head.

Verron and Sareth.

Selene didn’t waste a second. Her eyes locked on the spear-wielding general, fire surging around her as she slammed her own spear to the ground.

“I’ll handle the one on the right. You two—take the man!”

Before either Mari or Kaia could answer, the ground exploded beneath Selene’s feet. She launched forward like a missile, fire trailing behind her in a streaking beam. Her attack screamed across the field and collided with Sareth, knocking her off balance, pushing her away. The Demon general spun her spear with lightning speed, blocking the follow-up strike.

Their clash lit up the battlefield. Sparks rained down as spear met spear.

Sareth smirked, “Ha! Not bad… for a girl scout of a Hero party.”

Then, in a blur, both of them shot across the field, disappearing into the smoke, their duel carving away into the distance.

Mari blinked, lowering her arm.

 “…She just… left. Selene really is just like Rein—charging off without a word, leaving us to deal with leftovers.”

Kaia’s eyes locked on Verron, who stood silent and waiting before them, a man of calm menace.

 “Mari, this is not the time for jokes. That’s no ordinary warrior, it's most likely one of Demon Lord's generals. We need to be careful. Very careful.”

He chuckled softly, the sound rich, almost aristocratic.

“Leftover, you say. How cruel. To be dismissed so easily by a young lady.”

His eyes shifted to Kaia, a faint smile tugging at his lips.

 “And yes, girl… you address me correctly. Verron, right hand of Her Majesty, the Demon Lord.”

He placed one hand elegantly over his chest, bowing ever so slightly as though they were at a ballroom rather than a battlefield. 

“But do not mistake refinement for weakness. I assure you, I am no mere ‘leftover.’ If anything…”

 His gaze lingered on both of them, a spark of charm and menace blending.

 “…it is you who have been left to me.”

He raised his hand, obsidian blade sliding free with a low hum. His smile never faded.

“How about it, ladies, shall we dance?”

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Inside the ruins, in front of three generals, Rein was already moving.

Lightning Step—BOOM.

A blue blur shot forward—Rein vanished from sight in a spark of lightning. Valen barely had time to blink. Instinct kicked in. He raised his massive war hammer to block—steel thicker than a tree trunk, blessed with demon-forged enchantments. It had stopped siege engines. It had crushed boulders. It did not stop Rein.

“What the—”

"Too slow, big boy! Let's see what you had for lunch!"

Rein’s fist smashed through the hammer, shattering the metal like brittle glass, then drove straight into Valen’s gut with the force of a siege weapon. The giant folded in half, airborne. His body flew like a missile, arcing backward through the ruin’s open space, stone tiles cracking beneath the force of his exit. He hit the far wall like a boulder, smashing straight through a stone pillar, then collapsed in a crater of rubble and dust.

Smoke curled from Rein’s knuckles.

“Take a nap big boy! Got no time to play with you! There are bigger fish to catch. Who's next!?”

The rubble from Valen’s impact was still falling when a shimmer of violet light flickered behind Rein. From the side, Serin raised her staff.

  “Tsk. Show-off. You shouldn’t have done that! Now you’ve made me serious. Tier Four Magic: Abyssal Spearstorm!”

The sky above the ruins turned dark — spiraling storm of black-and-purple spears conjured mid-air. Each one the size of a full-grown man, their tips humming with void energy. They rained down in a screaming swarm aimed directly at Rein’s back.

He raised a single hand. With a sharp crack, a wall of raw lightning burst outward like a spinning barrier — a dome of white-hot arcs that met the first spear mid-air and shattered it.

Then the next. Then all of them.

BOOM. BOOM. BOOMBOOMBOOM—!

One after another, the void spears exploded against the shield, erupting in shockwaves that blew chunks of ruin from the walls. Rein stood still at the center, not impressed.

Serin clicked her tongue, "Tck! Void magic is at disadvantage against lightning. That did nothing. How about this! Tier Four Magic: Glacier Burial!”

A spike of ice burst from beneath Rein’s feet—ten meters tall, sharp and fast.

“Inferno Blaze.” Rein whispered.

His foot came down.

The entire ice formation exploded in a flash of steam and flying shards.

Serin wasn't done, she followed with another spell.

 “Tier Four Magic: Infernal Bloom!”

The ground cracked open, vomiting out a field of molten flame shaped like flowers, each one bursting with chain detonations that tore the floor apart.

Rein punched the air.

A shockwave of lightning roared out from his fist, ripping through the spell and extinguishing it.

Serin shouted, frustration flashing in her golden eyes.

“Why won’t you just fall already?!”

Rein tilted his head, brushing dust from his shoulder as if her attack had been nothing more than a breeze.

“Fall? Lady, I haven’t even started walking yet. But hey, the answer is simple. Because you’re all too slow.”

He vanished.

CRACK!

Lightning tore through the air as he appeared right in front of her.

Her lips parted in surprise.

“Oh yeah, also, here’s a tip for ya. Buy sturdier toys.” Rein said as he grabbed her staff.

SNAP! The staff shattered in his grip.

“Wha—?!”

His fist buried itself in her stomach, the impact detonating with thunder.
Serin screamed as she was blasted across the ruins, smashing through an archway in a spray of stone.

“Next!” Rein called, rolling his shoulders as arcs of lightning sparked across his arms.

Silvia was already mid-lunge, twin scimitars flashing on their chains.

  “You’ve gotten meaner, Hero-kun. I like it.”

CLANG—CLANG—CLANG!

Sparks lit the battlefield as steel met lightning. Rein didn’t move back an inch. With one hand, he caught her chain mid-swing and gave it a playful tug.

“Cute dance. Ever thought of auditioning for the circus?”

She lunged, trying to twist her blades, but Rein yanked her forward—then slammed a lightning-charged palm into her chest.

BOOM!

Silvia skidded across the ground, coughing blood, yet laughing through the pain.

“Ha! That's more like it, Hero-kun. But don't you think you took us down just yet…”

The other two generals staggered to their feet. Rein rested his blade across his shoulder, his grin sharp.

“Man, I don’t have time for this. But you three just had to pick a fight, didn’t ya? You’re like mosquitoes—annoying, loud, and really asking to get smacked.”

Valen, blood dripping from his lip, growled.

 “Arrogant fool…”

“Fool?” Rein smirked, sparks snapping louder around him.

 “Buddy, your about to be folded by this fool, what that makes you then. Hold up, don't answer that, I don't care. So listen close… I’m done playing around. One hit. That’s all it’ll take.”

Rein planted his feet.

The ground split beneath him, spiderweb cracks racing out in every direction as raw mana flooded the air. Lightning hissed off his skin, scorching the stone black.

His blade began to glow—first a faint silver, then brighter, hotter, until it burned like a white sun. The heat warped the air, making the ruins shimmer as if the world itself couldn’t stand near him.

The generals instinctively staggered back.

“You three wanted a show? Fine. Front-row seats to your own funeral. Better start praying—”

The weapon flared so bright it hurt to look at, the light swallowing his body.

“—‘cause this one’s gonna hurt!”

He swung. The air itself screamed. A white-hot arc tore through the ruins, ripping up the ground.

“AETHER… REND!!”