The Battle Begins
The Fire Demon drew his weapon:
a three‑pronged demon trident forged from black metal, red flames bursting from its tips.
Andrea leveled the legendary Wolf Fang, which glowed with a bluish light — as if the power of water and wind pulsed within it.
The two warriors faced each other.
The air vibrated with magic.
The stones trembled.
The runes flared.
Za Balog, the Fire Demon,
and
Andrea Wolf, Champion of the Wolf Knights,
clashed.
When the trident and the sword met, the impact was so powerful the chamber walls shook.
The battle had begun.
Andrea, as always, didn't wait.
She lunged at the demon with lightning speed, the Wolf Fang slicing through the air in a blue arc.
Za Balog appeared to block the strike — yet the skin on his arm split open, and red demon blood splattered across the stones.
The demon stared at the wound in surprise.
"A demon's skin is as hard as human armor.
My respect — you managed to wound me.
That sword… is it a legendary piece?"
Andrea's eyes flashed.
"And if it is?"
Za Balog grinned broadly.
"With such a blade, the right wielder could even cut the Demon King's hide.
Let's see if you're worthy of wielding it!"
The demon attacked again, the three‑pronged trident trailing flames.
Andrea parried every strike, counterattacked, and within a minute she had carved another wound into Za Balog — this time across his chest.
The demon stepped back.
Andrea's thoughts raced:
This demon is strong.
Easily at the level of a Knight‑Captain.
Good thing he ran into me first — otherwise he would have slaughtered countless Wolf Knights.
Za Balog laughed — not mockingly this time, but with genuine respect.
"I underestimated you.
You may be as strong as the female knight of this tomb — the one who slaughtered my kind five hundred years ago.
Well… every generation produces strong warriors.
Humans are no exception."
The demon raised his trident.
"I acknowledge you as a worthy opponent.
As a sign of respect, I will fight you with my full strength."
Andrea clenched her teeth.
I have a bad feeling about this.
I should use Feral Mode.
Za Balog's Second Form – Blazing Soul
The demon let out a roar so powerful the walls trembled.
"Behold the true power of a Fire Demon!
Burn in the flames of fear!
Blazing Soul!!!"
The demon's body ignited.
His magical energy erupted like fire, the air around him shimmering with heat.
The stones beneath his feet melted.
This was the second form of the strongest Fire Demons:
when their very soul ignites, their power doubles, and their mere presence becomes lethal.
Noelle stepped back, raising her arm to shield her eyes.
"Andrea! The air itself is burning around him!"
But Andrea stepped forward.
The Wolf Fang's glow intensified.
Andrea Wolf – Wolf Style: Feral Mode! Legendary Wolf Dance!!!
"Wolf Style…
Feral Mode!
Legendary Wolf Dance!!!"
The air exploded around her.
A whirlwind surged at her feet, her movements blurring as if the wind itself were dancing.
Za Balog barely had time to raise his trident—
Andrea was already there.
In a single instant.
The Wolf Fang struck with such force that the demon's trident shattered in half.
The blade carved across Za Balog's chest, so deep that his entire body shuddered.
The Fire Demon staggered back, then fell onto his back.
Blood poured from the wound, and his flames extinguished.
The chamber fell silent.
Za Balog spoke one last time, his voice hoarse:
"Human… you… truly… are a champion…"
Za Balog's Last Words
Za Balog's body lay on the ground, the deep wound across his chest pouring demon blood.
His flames had gone out, and the air no longer shimmered with heat around him.
Andrea slowly lowered the Wolf Fang, the vortex of Feral Mode fading around her.
The demon was still alive — but only had minutes left.
Andrea stepped closer.
"Just as I thought…
The Wolf Dance with the Wolf Fang is on a completely different level than when used with an ordinary sword."
Za Balog looked up at her, gasping.
"How… did you become so strong so suddenly?"
Andrea shrugged.
"I had a bad feeling about your fire, so I put everything into my final strike.
After all… you can put out a fire in the forest if only a single branch is burning.
But if the whole forest is already in flames, then it's too late."
Za Balog gave a faint smile.
"You have good… battle instincts.
If the fight had dragged on… you would have burned inside your armor."
Andrea glanced back at Noelle.
"No. I still wouldn't have lost.
Noelle would have extinguished your flames."
Za Balog nodded weakly.
"I see…"
His gaze dimmed for a moment, then he looked back into Andrea's eyes.
His voice was no longer arrogant — only tired, broken.
"Between the Demon Island and the humans' Kingdom lie islands filled with various monsters.
But demons can fly.
To launch an attack from our island onto human lands, we only need to deal with the Harpies… and the sky becomes ours."
Za Balog's Confession
Andrea and Noelle listened closely.
"The Harpies are mindless beasts.
Their brains are no better than a bird's.
You cannot form alliances with them — the only option is to wipe them all out."
The demon's eyes narrowed, as if reliving a memory.
"The leader of the Fire Demons, Salamander, entrusted my clan with that task.
But he deemed my clan too weak against the Harpies… so he sent his strongest warrior with us."
Andrea tensed.
The name alone gave her a bad feeling.
Za Balog continued:
"His name: Wildfire.
He is far stronger than I am.
But that is not the real problem.
Wildfire is insane.
A demon who does not care about his comrades."
The demon's voice trembled.
"The Harpy Queen was powerful… but my clan was ready to kill her even at the cost of our lives.
But that cursed Wildfire!
He killed everyone.
Demon and harpy alike.
He burned them all alive.
My clan… my comrades… my brothers.
He killed everyone and destroyed everything."
Noelle turned pale.
Za Balog's gaze held no tears, yet was filled with pain.
"Only I survived the battle.
The Harpy Queen died, all the harpies perished.
Salamander even rewarded that bastard for it.
My clan was annihilated… and he just laughed at us.
That bastard!"
The demon clenched his fist, though he no longer had the strength to lift it.
"I swore on my clan's blood that I would kill him… and avenge my brothers.
But alone, I was no match for him."
His gaze drifted toward the sealed gate.
"Then I remembered what the elder of my clan always told us.
A story from five hundred years ago.
A legend of a female warrior who cut down as many Fire Demons with her water blade as the Hero himself… perhaps even more."
Andrea's eyes widened.
"The elder called her the She‑Wolf. Andrasa."
Za Balog smiled faintly.
"I thought… if I could obtain that water blade… I could kill Wildfire.
So I came to the land of the legend, where my ancestors were slain by the She‑Wolf."
The demon slowly closed his eyes.
"But before I could claim the water blade… a new She‑Wolf stood in my way… and defeated me.
Her strength… her strike… was beautiful.
I am glad that it was her blade that ended me…
and not the mad flames of that wretch Wildfire."
Za Balog's Final Breath
Za Balog was barely breathing. With every shallow inhale, more demon blood seeped from the gaping wound across his chest.
Andrea leaned over him, the Wolf Fang still glowing faintly from the aftershocks of Feral Mode.
"I don't understand. You were strong even like this — why did you need that sword?"