The fifth assault began beneath a sky drowned in darkness.
The Demonic Forest seemed to have awakened.
From every direction, Demonic Beasts poured toward the fortress.
Some crawled across the ground.
Some tore through the earth.
Others descended from the sky.
Among them moved Demons, their bodies covered in dark armor and Demonic Mana.
The fortress erupted into chaos.
Light Cannons fired from the walls.
Brilliant beams of white light tore through the darkness, reducing entire groups of Demonic Beasts to ash.
Dwarven weapons thundered.
Elven archers released volleys of arrows.
Human soldiers charged forward.
The commanders shouted orders from the rear.
Every unit moved according to the formations they had practiced.
And at the very front of the battlefield stood two figures.
Lucian.
And Irene.
They fought side by side.
Lucian's Melarium sword flashed with Light Mana as he cut through a Demonic Beast.
Another charged him.
He stepped aside.
Its claws passed within inches of his face.
Lucian turned and struck.
The beast fell.
Irene fought several meters away.
Her movements were completely different from Lucian's.
There was no wasted movement.
Every strike was precise.
Every step carried years of experience.
She slipped beneath the claws of a beast and drove her sword through its chest.
"Lucian!"
He turned.
A winged Demon descended toward him.
Irene threw her sword.
The blade struck the creature before it could reach him.
Lucian finished it with a burst of Light Mana.
"Thanks!"
"Watch your surroundings!"
Irene retrieved her sword.
The battle continued.
For hours, the army fought.
The fifth wave was far more difficult than the previous assaults.
Every type of Demonic Beast had been deployed.
Flying beasts attacked the towers.
Burrowing creatures emerged behind the defensive lines.
Fast predators targeted the artillery crews.
Poisonous beasts attempted to overwhelm the healers.
Armored creatures charged the fortress walls.
Yet the army adapted.
They had been tested for days.
And now those lessons were paying off.
The Light Cannons were repositioned.
The soldiers changed formations.
The archers focused on the flying creatures.
The dwarven weapons targeted the larger beasts.
Slowly...
The enemy numbers began to fall.
One by one, the Demonic Beasts disappeared.
The Demons fell.
The battlefield became quieter.
Lucian looked around.
Only a handful of creatures remained.
Five.
Perhaps less.
The soldiers began to realize it.
"We're winning!"
A cheer rose from somewhere behind the lines.
Lucian didn't answer.
His eyes moved toward the far edge of the battlefield.
There stood the Demon Commander.
Watching.
Smiling.
He hadn't moved.
Not once.
He simply stood at the edge of the forest as though the entire battle had been nothing more than a performance.
Lucian's expression hardened.
Why isn't he fighting?
Then—
The Demon smiled.
A strange sound came from the battlefield.
Crack.
Lucian turned.
One of the fallen Demonic Beasts began to tremble.
Its body swelled.
"What..."
The corpse suddenly ruptured.
A wave of black Demonic Mana exploded outward.
The soldiers nearest to it screamed.
Another corpse began shaking.
Then another.
Then another.
Within seconds, the battlefield was filled with violent explosions.
The bodies of the fallen Demonic Beasts and Demons burst apart, releasing an enormous quantity of concentrated Demonic Mana.
The air became thick.
Black mist covered the ground.
Lucian immediately felt something was wrong.
His lungs tightened.
His body became heavy.
Soldiers began coughing.
Some dropped their weapons.
Others fell to their knees.
"Get back!"
A commander shouted.
But it was already too late.
The Demonic Mana spread across the entire battlefield.
One soldier collapsed.
Then another.
Their bodies convulsed.
Froth appeared around their mouths.
The commanders attempted to rally them.
But even they began to fall.
"Light Mana Crystals!"
Several soldiers desperately activated their crystals.
For a brief moment, a faint barrier appeared around them.
They remained standing.
Five seconds.
Ten.
Twenty.
Then their barriers weakened.
They fell.
Lucian's breathing became heavier.
He summoned his Light Mana.
A brilliant glow surrounded his body.
It pushed back the darkness.
But even his Light Mana struggled.
"This is..."
Lucian gritted his teeth.
The intensity was far greater than the Demonic Mana they had experienced when the Demon entered the fortress.
This was not merely an attack.
It was a field of concentrated Demonic energy.
A battlefield transformed into a death zone.
Lucian looked around.
Thousands of soldiers lay unconscious.
The commanders had fallen.
Even the strongest soldiers were unable to move.
Then he looked toward the forest.
The Demon Commander was walking toward him.
Slowly.
Calmly.
As though he were taking a leisurely stroll.
Lucian raised his sword.
The Demon stopped several meters away.
The darkness surrounding them became heavier.
Lucian's Light Mana flickered.
He could barely maintain it.
Then—
A brilliant light appeared behind him.
Lucian turned.
"Irene..."
Irene stood upright.
She was completely unaffected.
A bright white glow surrounded her.
Lucian stared in disbelief.
"How?"
Irene touched the pendant around her neck.
It was a simple-looking ornament.
But the Light Mana radiating from it was immense.
"This?"
She smiled faintly.
"Henry gave it to me."
Lucian stared at the pendant.
The Light Mana it emitted was even stronger than his own.
"That much Light Mana..."
Irene looked toward the Demon.
"Apparently my husband knew I'd need it someday."
Lucian almost laughed despite the situation.
"Of course he did."
The battlefield had fallen silent.
Only three people remained standing.
Lucian.
Irene.
And the Demon Commander.
The Demon stopped.
For the first time...
His expression changed.
His eyes moved toward Irene's pendant.
He had expected everyone to fall.
But she was standing.
Unharmed.
"Interesting."
His smile returned.
"Very interesting."
He reached for his cloak.
Then slowly removed it.
Underneath was a perfectly tailored black suit.
For a moment, Lucian found the appearance almost strange.
If not for the Demonic Mana surrounding him...
He could have been mistaken for a noble gentleman attending a royal banquet.
The Demon brushed his sleeve.
Then looked at Irene.
"A Light Mana artifact..."
His eyes narrowed.
"How troublesome."
Irene raised her sword.
"Come find out."
Lucian stepped beside her.
"We fight together."
The Demon smiled.
"Very well."
They attacked.
Lucian rushed first.
His sword flashed.
The Demon tilted his body.
The blade passed beside him.
Irene attacked immediately afterward.
The Demon blocked.
The impact sent a shockwave through the battlefield.
Lucian followed with another strike.
The Demon ducked.
Irene's sword swept across his chest.
He stepped backward.
Lucian released a burst of Light Mana.
The Demon was forced to shield his face.
For the first time...
He stopped moving.
Lucian saw it.
The Light Mana had affected him.
"Again!"
Lucian increased his output.
Light erupted from his body.
The Demon stepped backward.
Irene seized the opening.
She moved faster than Lucian had ever seen her move.
Her sword struck his shoulder.
A clean slash.
Black blood spilled.
The Demon looked at his shoulder.
Then...
The wound closed.
The flesh regenerated.
Lucian's eyes widened.
"He healed."
Irene's expression became serious.
"He's not normal."
The Demon smiled.
"That was a good strike."
He touched his shoulder.
The wound had completely disappeared.
His Demonic Mana grew stronger.
Lucian attacked again.
The Demon deflected.
Irene struck.
He dodged.
Lucian tried another angle.
Blocked.
Another.
Dodged.
Again.
Blocked.
The Demon hadn't attacked once.
He was simply defending.
And yet...
They couldn't land a decisive blow.
Lucian's breathing became heavier.
Irene's movements slowed slightly.
The prolonged battle was exhausting them.
But the Demon looked completely calm.
Then Irene realized something.
"Lucian."
He glanced at her.
"He's not attacking."
Lucian froze.
She was right.
The Demon had been defending the entire time.
He wasn't trying to kill them.
He was testing them.
The Demon stepped backward.
He brushed some dust from his coat.
Then laughed.
"It was worth coming to the Border."
Lucian tightened his grip.
The Demon straightened.
"Allow me to introduce myself."
He placed one hand against his chest.
"I am Rio."
His smile widened.
"Commander of the Demon Army."
He bowed slightly.
"It is a pleasure to fight against you."
Lucian's expression hardened.
"Rio..."
The name would remain in his memory.
Then something changed.
Rio suddenly looked toward the forest.
His smile disappeared.
His entire body became still.
He stared into the darkness.
Lucian followed his gaze.
"What is he looking at?"
Irene whispered.
Rio remained frozen for several seconds.
Then he spoke quietly.
"It seems..."
"I won't be able to participate in the upcoming event."
Lucian frowned.
"What event?"
Rio looked back at them.
His expression had returned to its usual calm smile.
"Sorry."
"I have to go."
"What?"
Before Lucian could react—
Rio turned.
He disappeared into the Demonic Forest.
Neither Lucian nor Irene moved.
They simply stared after him.
"Why would he retreat?"
Lucian asked.
Irene didn't answer.
Then the Demonic Mana began to withdraw.
Slowly.
The darkness lifted.
The battlefield became visible again.
One soldier moved.
Then another.
The unconscious soldiers began waking.
Some coughed.
Others struggled to stand.
The battlefield was covered in fallen bodies.
Lucian looked toward the forest.
"Where did he go?"
There was no answer.
Then—
BOOM.
The ground shook.
Everyone froze.
Another tremor followed.
BOOM.
Something was coming.
From deep within the forest came a deafening roar.
Then hundreds of Demonic Beasts burst from the trees.
They were running.
Not toward the fortress.
Away from the forest.
Lucian's eyes widened.
"They're fleeing."
Irene looked toward the forest.
"What could possibly frighten them?"
Nobody knew.
The beasts charged blindly across the battlefield.
They didn't care about the soldiers.
They didn't even appear to see them.
They were running for their lives.
The army immediately reorganized.
"Positions!"
"Don't let them through!"
"Protect the wounded!"
Lucian raised his sword.
Irene stood beside him.
The commanders, now recovering, began issuing orders.
The remaining Light Cannons fired.
The army attacked.
The beasts fell one after another.
It took hours.
But eventually...
The last Demonic Beast collapsed.
Silence returned.
The fifth assault was over.
But nobody celebrated.
Because there was one question that remained.
What had frightened the Demonic Beasts?
And perhaps more importantly—
What had frightened Rio?
Two days later, additional reinforcements arrived.
Engineers and soldiers immediately began securing the newly captured territory.
The roads were repaired.
Fortifications were constructed.
Demonic Mana was gradually cleansed from the surrounding land.
A week later, civilians were permitted to return.
For the first time in years, families began rebuilding their homes in the reclaimed territories.
The fields were still scarred.
The forests were still damaged.
But life was returning.
The Twin Mountains had become the first major symbol of the human alliance's counterattack.
Yet no information about Rio could be found.
No scout discovered his location.
No messenger returned with news of his army.
And the mystery of the fleeing Demonic Beasts remained unanswered.
Lucian often stood at the fortress wall at night, looking toward the forest.
He wondered what Rio had seen.
What had made the Demon Commander abandon a battlefield where he had held the overwhelming advantage?
Whatever it was...
It was still out there.
Irene, meanwhile, made her decision.
She would remain at the frontline.
The forces of House Tecka would join the united army permanently.
For years, Irene had watched the war from afar.
She had advised.
She had protected the kingdom.
She had fought when necessary.
But now she understood something.
The war had entered a new stage.
The Demons were no longer merely attacking.
The humans were finally pushing back.
And she intended to be part of it.
The army began preparing for the next phase of the campaign.
More Light Cannons were transported forward.
New weapons were tested.
Engineers began constructing roads through the mountains.
Dwarven and Elven researchers sent new equipment to the front.
The kingdoms continued pouring resources into the war.
The people began to believe again.
The Border was no longer merely a wall.
The Twin Mountains were no longer merely a graveyard.
They had become the beginning of a counterattack.
Lucian stood atop the fortress as the sun rose over the mountains.
For the first time, he wasn't looking toward the Border behind him.
He was looking forward.
Toward the Demonic Forest.
Toward the unknown.
Toward the enemy that had ruled those lands for years.
He raised his sword.
"The counterattack has begun."