Saeko Busujima continued the explanation. "Extensive combat has proven that once a demon's energy expenditure crosses a certain threshold, their combat effectiveness drops drastically. Demons are still living creatures. They evolve continuously and possess long lifespans, but those lives are not infinite. They excel at explosive bursts of strength, yet prolonged, high-intensity combat is their greatest weakness."
She spoke calmly, her eyes still fixed on the battle in the distance. "If they go too long without eating, they simply cannot keep fighting. And the most efficient food for restoring a demon's energy is—"
Sophia already understood and looked toward the Queen.
"—humans, the very thing she cannot eat right now."
The poison spreading through the capital had been Sophia's work. After infiltrating the city and waiting for nearly a month, she had made sure every demon there was infected with the Evil Blood Plague before launching the war. This strategy greatly reduced human casualties. Even the Queen had likely consumed the capital's water supply.
The weakness she now displayed suggested she had not eaten human flesh for quite some time. Her body might even have begun the early stages of regression.
Of course, someone as powerful as the Queen would not devolve into a beast after only a short fast. Her combat ability still appeared terrifyingly intact. But the problem she now faced was much simpler—her stored energy was insufficient.
"We absolutely cannot let them taste meat," Saeko said grimly. "Eren repeats that before every battle. Not even corpses or scraps. We cannot give them the slightest opportunity to eat."
For demons, even a single mouthful of human flesh could restore a massive amount of energy almost instantly. And on a battlefield between humans and demons, the most abundant resource was obvious.
Human corpses.
Stray limbs.
That was why humans could never confront demons in a direct battlefield confrontation. In such an environment, demons were almost invincible.
Arthur's strategy had completely avoided that scenario. Hit-and-run raids, long-range harassment, carefully laid traps—every tactic ensured that demons died before they could even touch a human sleeve.
So far, the total number of human casualties had not even reached one hundred.
An almost unbelievable achievement.
"That's why whenever he fights, we simply watch," Saeko said quietly. "If even one of us rushes forward, gets injured, or becomes food for them, we only make things worse for him."
"Eren's stamina is limited. Humans cannot recover energy instantly like demons can."
"To avoid becoming a burden, we must suppress our urge to help."
Her voice lowered slightly.
"Our worst losses happened in the first battle… before we truly understood that order."
"We lost fifty-seven comrades that day."
Even now, Saeko still blamed herself. At the time, fear for Arthur had prevented her from strictly enforcing the command that no one should intervene. Several children had rushed forward recklessly.
Of the fifty-seven who died that day, she believed she carried a share of the responsibility.
As the battle continued, even the spectators could see the Queen's movements gradually slowing.
The Queen was undeniably powerful. From the beginning of the fight, she had instinctively sensed the danger posed by Arthur's seemingly ordinary blade. She avoided it with extreme caution, refusing to allow even the smallest scratch to touch her body.
Her fear of that weapon was even greater than her fear of the human youth wielding it.
She must not be cut.
But as her stamina began to fail, her movements faltered for a split second.
A shallow cut appeared on her arm.
In that instant, without the slightest hesitation, the Queen slashed off her own limb at the shoulder with her razor-sharp nails.
The severed arm fell to the ground, lifeless.
Only after confirming it had completely died did she finally understand the true terror of that weapon.
Was it… poison?
"No!" Queen Legravalima's mind screamed. That was not poison. It was something far more terrifying—an existence that defied logic itself. This was a curse, an illogical force known as cursed poison. Its nature far surpassed that of ordinary monsters who merely possessed the title of "demon." If they had truly been legendary demons, perhaps they would not have needed to fear Murasame's curse. But they were not. They were only monsters.
And monsters could not escape death.
With one arm severed, the Queen's movements became far more restricted. Arthur immediately pressed the advantage, his attacks growing even more relentless.
Among the spectators, Liza stared at him with eyes purer than anyone else's.
After all, this was the first time she had ever seen Lord Blank fight.
So the only thoughts running through her mind were extremely simple.
Fuck… Blank is so strong.
Before entering this dungeon, she had certainly heard rumors about Blank. But those stories had always felt distant, like tales about an idol.
For ordinary Reincarnators, Blank was an untouchable existence.
Someone far removed from their lives.
She had never imagined that she, a resident of the tenth floor, would actually encounter him in person.
Liza had always been a clever girl. Even inside the Reincarnation Tower, she had rarely suffered losses.
After clearing more than twenty dungeons, most of her evaluations had been B or C, and occasionally she even received an A.
Among other Reincarnators, that record was already something to be proud of.
Because of that, when she first entered this dungeon, she believed that with her intelligence she could easily manipulate the other Reincarnators.
But in the end—
She was the one being played.
Back in that forest, the moment she learned the truth, admiration for the person before her had already begun to grow.
Then, like a bolt of lightning, his true identity was revealed.
The instant he admitted that he was Blank, Liza finally understood how those girls who chased idols until they fainted must feel.
She had nearly passed out from excitement right there.
If she hadn't desperately hidden her wildly fluctuating emotions behind exaggerated excitement and endless chatter, she had no idea how embarrassing her reaction might have been.
"I'm going to eat you!"
"Eat you all!"
"The finest human flesh… only I deserve to enjoy it!"
Queen Legravalima roared madly.
Arthur showed no mercy.
He drove Murasame straight into the queen's core with overwhelming force.
"We are no longer your food."
He pulled the blade free.
Then, with a single clean strike, he severed her head.
"We are humans!"
Raising the sword, he pointed the blade directly toward the dome of the palace, declaring the end of the final battle.
For a brief moment—
Silence.
Then cheers erupted like a tsunami throughout the entire palace.
"We won!!!"
"Humans finally won!!!"
"Long live Hero Eren!!!"
Countless voices merged into a single thunderous roar.
At that moment, humanity finally stepped into its own future.
At the same time, the long-awaited system notification echoed in the ears of the Reincarnators.
[World Team Mission: Road to a New World!]
[Mission Completion Rating: SSS-rank!]
[Final mission evaluations will be distributed according to each participant's contribution.]
[You have completed the main survival mission for dungeon clearance. Your mission rating is…]