"Haha, Elf—you're pretty strong!"
Shaton manipulated the shadows, a ferocious grin curling at the corner of his mouth.
With a light lift of his fingers, countless black tentacles burst from the ground like a torrential downpour, clashing fiercely with Milialde across the open ground.
Though he was already over two hundred years old, this was his first time fighting an elf.
He had assumed elves would be as fragile as humans. He'd even prepared to end it in a single move and bathe the entire city in blood—but instead…
"As expected of a long-lived race comparable to us."
He rubbed his chin, a faint, hard-to-detect note of admiration flashing in his eyes.
Milialde bit her lower lip slightly. As she used defensive magic to fend off the incoming tentacles, she was clearly struggling.
She knew very well that an elf's physical constitution was no different from a human's—if even one of those tentacles struck her directly, not even Goddess magic would be able to save her.
This guy…
Keeping her gaze locked on Shaton, Milialde's chest rose and fell as she tried to steady her rapid breathing.
In the blink of an eye, her thoughts raced. She scanned the battlefield again and again, desperately searching for a gap amid the dense barrage of attacks.
Unfortunately—
The demon race was far superior to elves when it came to the use of magic.
They didn't need imagination at all. With sheer will alone, they could freely alter the effects of magic.
And because of that—
"Try this next. In the past fifty years, you're the only one who's ever been able to stand up to me. Don't disappoint me, Elf."
Though Shaton was burning with the desire to devour Milialde on the spot, he understood clearly—
An opponent like her was an exceptional opportunity to elevate his magical prowess.
To grow stronger, no opportunity could be wasted. Better to toy with her first… then eat her.
With that thought, he waved his hand gracefully.
Under his command, the black shadows rapidly gathered at the center of the field—like streams converging into a vast ocean—until they fused into a single mass.
Whooo—
The merged shadow slowly rose to its feet.
It stood a full twenty meters tall. Its colossal body blocked out even the sun, casting an enormous swath of darkness across the ground.
Milialde's pupils shrank sharply.
The nearby soldiers fared even worse—at the sight of it, their legs went weak, and they couldn't even stand.
Twenty meters—what kind of scale was that?
Equivalent to a seven-story building.
Its palm alone was three meters wide. A casual slap would be enough to flatten an entire house.
"S-save us…"
Scrambling on hands and feet, they began to retreat in panic.
Milialde took everything in at a glance, but there was no time to think—because at that very moment, the giant slowly lifted its foot.
Boom!
Though its movements were clumsy, the overwhelming pressure was unmistakable, like a towering mountain crashing down upon her.
Too close. No time to attack.
Driven by instinct, she leapt.
The instant she cleared the shadow's reach, she twisted her body midair. The tip of her staff erupted with blinding light!
Slash!
A dazzling pillar of light tore through the air, kicking up a violent gale as it pierced straight through the shadow's head, carving a path of devastation through the forest behind it, as though ravaged by a typhoon!
Yet in the very next second, the pierced area healed in an eerie fashion, writhing black fluid filling the gap.
"It's useless."
Shaton leisurely brushed his hair back, his tone utterly unhurried.
An elegant, false smile appeared on his face, as if he were pleased by the sheer power of Milialde's spell.
"My shadows are immortal and formless—that's the nature of shadow magic."
"Of course, individual shadows will gradually become tangible, physical entities."
"But once fused, that flaw is perfectly overcome. You have absolutely no chance against it."
He spread his arms wide.
"Come. Struggle with all you've got. Let me see the limits of your kind."
Demons often took joy in powerful opponents—because defeating the strong meant they themselves grew stronger.
Milialde took a deep breath.
Immortal, huh? What a pain.
She hadn't used her strongest magic yet. That was her trump card—once spent, if it failed, she'd be helpless prey.
This guy…
Her gaze fixed on Shaton as she weighed her options. If the shadow couldn't be beaten, then what about attacking the master?
Before she could act, someone else moved first—giving her the answer.
"Holy Light, Chapter Three—Banish Evil!"
The priest stepped forward and resolutely cast Goddess magic.
Clutching his pendant with both hands, torrents of holy light cascaded down, engulfing Shaton from head to toe.
As a human, facing an external enemy, he believed he had to contribute—no matter what.
"Ahhh!"
Shaton let out an exaggerated scream of agony. His body hunched over as if enduring immense pain, on the verge of vanishing entirely.
Joy surged in the priest's heart—
But then.
"Just kidding."
The agony vanished from Shaton's face in an instant.
He straightened up, casually dusting off his robe. In its place was calm amusement.
Pointing at the shadow, he spoke as the missing portions of his body recovered in sync with identical damage appearing on the shadow.
"I've already had a taste of how formidable you priests can be."
"Now, the shadow and I are bound together—life to life."
"Relying on priestly magic alone, you cannot defeat me."
Hall's earlier attacks had caused him plenty of suffering. That was precisely why he was convinced the same tricks would never work again.
To kill him, the shadow had to be killed.
To kill the shadow, the soldiers and Hall would have to die.
Could humans do that?
As emotional creatures, hesitation was their greatest weakness.
Thinking this, Shaton's lips curved into a composed smile.
His gaze was steady, radiating an air of invincibility.
The priest clenched his teeth.
"Despicable!"
...
"Hm? What's going on? Why is everyone fleeing? Is the demon that strong?"
Within the city, Yuhran pushed through the panicked crowd.
The streets were filled with the stench of sweat and the sounds of crying and screaming. Like a fish swimming against the current, he was squeezed until his body grew hot.
The holy tome's voice sounded directly in his mind—this time carrying a grave tone.
"The calamity foretold by the Goddess… has finally appeared."
"Yuhran, what has appeared this time is not a mere monster, but a being that has evolved beyond monsters."
"You may call it a demon race. That is what later generations will name them."
"Be careful. The magic they wield surpasses that of humans and elves alike. Whatever you do—don't get yourself killed."
The holy tome didn't care about Yuhran's life for its own sake—but it cared deeply about the world behind him.
Before the Goddess awakened, Yuhran absolutely could not be allowed to die.
"The demon race…?"
Yuhran's mind jolted. Trouble—real trouble—had arrived.
The Demon King of the demon race was a being capable of slaughtering two-thirds of the world's population.
And now… he was about to face them already?
Tch…
To be safe, I'd better prepare the Gate Between Worlds first.
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