"This demon reeks of strangeness from every angle..."
The Platinum Dragon Lord suppressed his aura to the utmost, hiding within the cloud layer.
"Besides..." He turned his head toward the distant mountain range beyond the Holy Kingdom's border.
Millions of demi-human signatures surfaced in his senses.
"Why gather the demi-humans on those peaks? In a real battle, would a demon care about their lives?"
While he pondered this, a familiar and ancient feeling suddenly rippled through his heart.
What now?
The thought had barely formed when he instinctively looked toward the Kingdom. His intuition told him that the source was there.
Forget it. What is in front of me is more important.
He shook his head and refocused on Bastello and Helant.
"Once you two are half-dead from fighting, I will swoop down and claim the spoils." A trace of Wild Magic stirred as power from the depths of his soul gathered and outlined new forms. A hazy blue shimmer coated his talons.
"Then I will let you taste the soul-splitting spell I created based on the Cure Elim Los Malvar's Wild Magic."
Among the True Dragon Lords was an undead dragon, Cure Elim Los Malvar, also known as the Corpse-Coffin Dragon King. After two centuries of painstaking research, he created a Wild Magic capable of completely annihilating souls, erasing any possibility of resurrection, and rivaling a World Item in power: Soul-Wipe Breath.
Platinum Dragon Lord's confidence in killing Helant came from the fact that he had spent all these years studying and borrowing from that spell to create a magic specifically designed to counter player resurrection.
Soul-Split!
Although it could not cause true death, any player killed by it would suffer a sheer, cliff-like drop in strength with every resurrection.
A confident gleam flashed in his eyes. "If you revive on the spot with a resurrection item, I will make sure you are crippled for good."
…
The sun slowly dimmed, its light shifting from yellow to red as it sank behind the peaks.
The evening light fell across Calca's knitted brows, worry and tension written across her beautiful face.
Her gaze never left the screen, still hoping for Helant to appear.
Zesshi Zetsumei stepped to Calca's side with her scythe in hand. Her mismatched eyes flickered with anxiety. "The sun is almost down. The demon will likely strike at any moment..."
Calca nodded. Helant had reached his limit. If the demon intended to act, the best moment was almost here.
"Quaiesse has a Reverse Summon spell. If anything changes, I will teleport over immediately to help. Cover me then." Zesshi stood on her toes and whispered into Calca's ear.
Reverse Summon?!
Those words eased Calca slightly. She lowered her head with a serious expression. "Understood."
With a powerhouse like Zesshi supporting Helant, even if they could not defeat the demon, escaping might still be possible.
"Stay alert. That cunning demon could attack at any time." Zesshi's small face was tense, and her mismatched eyes were filled with hatred and disgust for Bastello.
If she had not been afraid that acting rashly would give the demon an excuse for slaughter, she would have charged into the demi-human camp long ago.
Helant would not be suffering like this.
Sensing the hostile stares from below, Bastello pondered for a moment before kindly offering, "No need to be nervous. I am one of the most trustworthy demons. I will not lift a finger until the sun sets."
As he spoke, he noticed Lord Helant's figure finally appear on the fifth screen.
With a smile, he narrated, "Oh, look. Sir Helant has finally reached the fifth city... just before sunset."
I will grind your bones to dust!
Zesshi's knuckles turned white as she clenched her scythe, her hands trembling.
Calca took two steady breaths, her eyes fixed on Helant with worry.
Exhausted, he dismissed his wings the moment he landed on the city wall, leaning against the parapet as his face turned pale.
Avoiding the demi-human guards, he glanced at the sun that had not yet fully set and relaxed slightly.
Faint motes of light began drifting into his body.
Calca knew that he was gathering mana.
"Haha~ It seems our Sir Helant truly is running on fumes," Bastello said cheerfully. Yet to Calca and the others, his words sounded unbearably harsh.
Zesshi looked toward Quaiesse. Only after he nodded did she turn her attention back to Helant.
After a brief recovery, some color returned to his haggard face.
Looking at the imprisoned and abused people within the city, he began to tremble with rage.
Holy light blossomed around him as he summoned a golden sun in the sky.
It was the precision-targeting spell he had used when saving the first city. Everyone recognized it.
Soon, with a weary smile, he distributed potions, then slumped alone on top of the wall, smiling with joy.
"They're saved!"
"Hurrah! Long live Helant!"
"Thank heavens, our people all survived!"
"Lord Helant is magnificent. Look how exhausted he is..."
When Helant rescued the fifth city, cheers erupted. People wept with joy and ran through the streets shouting.
Seeing his tired yet relieved and happy smile, Calca felt a bitter pain in her heart. She could only whisper through half-sobbed breaths, "Idiot... don't drop your guard."
Clementine stood atop the wall with a stiletto in hand, her crimson eyes fixed on Bastello as she silently prayed.
"Mighty Holy Domain God Lord, let Helant obliterate that filthy demon."
After the fifth city was saved, Zesshi said nothing more and walked straight toward Quaiesse.
Clap! Clap! Clap!
Before Bastello's projection, a blood-red demon in a black suit applauded.
"As expected of our oh so noble Helant, saving everyone before sunset. How noble."
Behind him, the projection gradually faded.
Remedios raised her sword, shielding Calca as she shouted, "That's the demon's true body. Send everyone to the shelters!"
"There's no need for such alarm, young lady... the sun has not set yet. By my word, I will not act for now," Bastello said with impeccable courtesy.
"Filthy demon, we all know your word is just a game!" Remedios clenched her teeth, the tension in her muscles twisting her face into a mask of fury.
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