"But I will be," Wildfire replied, his flames rising higher.
"As soon as I bring the Hero's head to Salamander.
That's right!
Not just Salamander and Quelenna —
even the Demon King will acknowledge me!"
Eris let out a bitter laugh.
"Great.
A monster like you…
and you're not even a Demon General yet."
John took a deep breath, then stepped forward.
"Eris…
I'll try to cut him in half with my strongest attack.
If what he says is true,
then I can defeat him too."
The air vibrated with heat.
The battle that would decide Greenwood's fate had begun.
The Hero Falls, the Father Burns
Captain John Scarlett drew a deep breath,
then shifted into his final attack stance.
The power of the fire element wrapped around his body,
and the blade of his sword blazed with blinding light.
For a single heartbeat, everything fell silent around him—
then he launched forward with all his strength.
His fire‑forged blade came down in a scorching arc,
cutting straight through Wildfire's flaming body.
The demon split cleanly in two—
but the flames continued to rage.
"Did you get him?!" Eris shouted, hope rising in her voice.
"This is impossible…!" John gasped.
"Is he truly immortal?!"
The answer came immediately.
Wildfire's bisected form slowly melted back together,
sticky tongues of flame rejoining as if John's attack
had been nothing more than a bothersome breeze.
Then, without warning,
a massive fireball erupted from Wildfire's left hand,
shooting straight toward Eris.
The Hero raised her sword on instinct,
managing to block the blast—
but the force hurled her backward,
slamming her into a thick tree trunk.
The impact tore the Dragonslayer from her grip,
sending it skidding far to her left.
The tree behind her cracked, split—
and collapsed on top of her.
The flames didn't burn her—
thanks to her fire element—
but the weight of the trunk pinned her down.
She couldn't move.
Her sword was too far to the left.
Her father and Wildfire were too far to the right.
Wildfire reached out with his right hand
and seized John Scarlett.
The captain's legs kicked helplessly in the air
as the demon lifted him,
preparing to execute him before his daughter's eyes.
"You two are fire‑elemental," Wildfire growled,
tightening his grip around John's body.
"That's why you've lasted this long against my flames.
But all that means…
is that I must roast your flesh a little longer.
That's all."
His flames surged,
wrapping around John's body.
At first, the captain endured with clenched teeth—
but as the fire sank deeper,
the pain became unbearable.
At last he screamed,
his voice echoing through the burning forest.
Eris lay trapped beneath the fallen tree,
helplessly watching as her father
slowly burned alive in Wildfire's grasp.
She strained with all her strength,
but the trunk wouldn't budge.
Her sword was too far away.
And her father…
couldn't hold on much longer.
The scene unfolded like a nightmare
from which there was no waking—
and the next moment would decide
life or death.
The Wolf Arrives
"Tell me, Hero," Wildfire rumbled,
tightening his grip around John's body,
"how should I cook your father?
Twice‑roasted until he's nice and crispy?
Personally, I prefer the smell of charred flesh."
"Don't you dare!" Eris screamed,
thrashing helplessly beneath the fallen tree.
"Let him go!"
John could barely breathe.
The flames were burning through his armor,
his skin blistering beneath the heat.
The pain sank deeper and deeper,
and Eris could only watch
as her father slowly burned alive in the demon's grasp.
But the tragedy never came.
In a flash of motion,
a female knight slammed into the battlefield
with such speed that the air itself shuddered around her.
Wolf Fang gleamed—
and with a single, precise strike,
she severed Wildfire's arm,
the one holding John.
The flaming hand hit the ground along with the captain.
The severed limb's fire sputtered out instantly
and dissolved into nothing.
Wildfire roared—
but even as he screamed,
a new arm was already forming,
shaping itself from living flame.
Andrea Wolf had arrived.
"Can you still move, Captain?" she asked,
her eyes already fixed on the demon.
John nodded, gasping.
"Yes… my fire element protected me until the last moment.
But I'm completely drained.
I'm useless in this fight now."
"You talk too much."
Andrea tilted her head.
"Use your hands, not your mouth.
Free Eris, then get out of here—
or do whatever you want."
"Thank you for saving me, Champion of the Wolves,"
John said, then hurried toward his daughter.
Wildfire let out a mocking laugh.
"So the third target has arrived.
All I'm missing now is that water mage,
and my four‑course dinner will be complete!"
"You won't live to see tonight's dinner!" Andrea snapped.
"Berserker Mode!"
A red aura erupted around her,
her muscles tightening,
her gaze darkening.
The Berserker Mode—
the technique Andras had created specifically
for fighting Demon Generals—
activated at full power.
Meanwhile, John sliced through the fallen tree
that had pinned Eris.
The Hero sprang free,
grabbed the Dragonslayer,
and ignited her Hero's Aura,
ready to fight once more.
The Kingdom's two champions—
Andrea Wolf and Eris Scarlett—
stood side by side
against Wildfire.
The demon clearly did not appreciate
that this time he faced two opponents
whose power far surpassed anything
he had encountered so far.
The two women attacked simultaneously.
Lightning‑fast strikes,
crushing blows,
glowing auras—
every movement was lethal.
But their blades and fists
passed straight through Wildfire's flame‑body,
as if they were trying to strike smoke.
The demon's laughter echoed darkly
through the burning forest.
From a distance,
John Scarlett watched the battle,
helpless, drained of all strength.
He knew Greenwood's fate
now rested entirely
on the two women before him.
The real battle
had only just begun.
Who Lasts Longer?
"What the hell?!" Andrea snapped as another strike sliced straight through Wildfire's body.
"A demon I can't cut even with Wolf Fang?!"
"So it's not just the Dragonslayer that's useless," Eris muttered through clenched teeth.
"Good to know."
"His body is like that of a fire elemental," Andrea mused, launching another attack.
"But then he should have a core somewhere. Something you can break.
Except I've already pierced his heart, his head, his stomach…
There's no core anywhere."
"Then how do we beat him?!" Eris shouted, rolling aside as a wave of flame blasted past her.
"His magic power might be the key."
"His magic power?" Eris narrowed her eyes.
"No one has infinite magic," Andrea explained.
"When he runs out, he'll become vulnerable."
"I get it!" Eris nodded.
"And what if we run out first?"
"Then we die. He wins."
Eris grinned — even in this hellish situation.
"Have I ever told you how much I love fighting beside you?"
"Have I ever told you you're not my type?" Andrea shot back.
"Being comrades and being lovers are two different things!"
"For me, Young Wolf is both."
Wildfire's flames surged higher, as if fueled by rage.
"You irritating little insects!
No one has ever gotten on my nerves for this long!"
"Oh, right, I almost forgot," Andrea said casually, preparing another strike.
"Za Balog sends his regards.
He told me to kill you for him."
Wildfire's flames exploded upward.
"Za Balog?
Did that little worm take it personally that I wiped out his clan?
They died because they were weak!
He blamed me for it?
He was weak trash too — that's why he died!
I'm strong, so I live!"
"Maybe don't make him too angry," Eris noted.
"His body's burning hotter."
"Good. That means he's burning through more magic," Andrea replied.
"You want to compete with me?!" Wildfire roared.
"See who lasts longer?!
Fine!