The remaining knights were still battling the demons as the townspeople fled in terror, desperately trying to survive.
While Elizabeth lay unconscious on the ground, broken and bleeding, the massacre continued.
The demons rampaged through the town without mercy, killing and devouring anyone they could catch.
Minutes passed.
Slowly… Elizabeth began to regain consciousness.
Dust mixed with blood covered her face and body. At first, everything around her felt distant and muffled, but gradually the agonizing screams of the townspeople became clearer.
Her head rang painfully, a sharp buzzing filling her ears.
She tried to move.
Her vision was blurred, the world around her spinning and unclear. When she attempted to lift her body, a heavy numbness spread through her limbs. She had almost no strength left.
Still, she forced herself to move.
Slowly… painfully… she pushed herself up from the ground.
The moment her body shifted, a sharp pain shot through her right arm.
Her arm was twisted unnaturally.
Broken.
The pain brought tears to her eyes as she struggled to breathe.
Her ears were still ringing as she slowly turned her head.
Beside her lay a body.
She stared at it through her blurred vision.
It was the knight.
The same knight who had offered her his hand only minutes earlier.
Now his body lay twisted on the ground, his head bent at a horrifying angle. One of his arms was crushed beneath him, lifeless.
Dead.
Elizabeth remained frozen, staring at the corpse beside her.
The screams of the dying continued to echo around her as her vision slowly struggled to clear.
As she placed her hand on the ground, she felt something wet and sticky.
Blood.
The ground beneath her was soaked with it, clinging to her hand as she struggled to push herself up.
Pain surged through her broken right arm and spread across every part of her body.
Every movement felt unbearable.
Yet she forced herself to rise.
Her vision slowly cleared, though the ringing in her head and ears still hadn't faded.
Elizabeth looked around.
The sight before her froze her in place.
People were being murdered… devoured by the demons swarming through the streets.
Blood covered the ground.
Then she saw it.
The General Demon stood in the distance.
It wasn't moving.
It was staring directly at her.
Fear crawled up Elizabeth's spine. Her eyes widened as sweat formed on her face.
And then reality struck her.
She couldn't save anyone.
Elizabeth slowly stepped backward.
Then she turned and began to run.
Or rather… tried to.
Her injured body could only manage a slow, limping escape.
As she limped away, Elizabeth suddenly noticed something.
A little girl.
The child was sitting alone on the ground at the corner of the street, crying.
Elizabeth recognized her.
She was the same girl Elizabeth had saved earlier… along with her mother.
But now—
The girl was alone.
Elizabeth tried to ignore the little girl and walk away.
For a moment, she almost did.
But she couldn't.
Her humanity wouldn't allow it.
With her body trembling and pain shooting through every step, Elizabeth slowly limped toward the child.
When she reached her, she asked weakly and hurriedly,
"Where is your mother?"
The little girl continued crying on the ground, her small body covered in blood and dirt.
"There…" she sobbed, pointing down the street.
Elizabeth followed the direction the girl indicated.
And then she saw it.
A half-devoured body lay on the ground.
So much of it had been torn apart that it was difficult to tell whether it had once been a man or a woman.
Elizabeth froze in horror.
Slowly, she turned back to the little girl.
"Come… let's get out of here," she said hurriedly, her voice weak with exhaustion.
"But my mo…ther?" the girl cried.
Elizabeth swallowed the lump in her throat.
"She will be alright… hurry," she said, taking the little girl's hand.
Suddenly—
A massive piece of the broken wall was hurled toward them.
It flew through the air in a flash.
A loud crushing sound erupted beside Elizabeth as dust burst into the air around her.
She flinched, stunned by the sudden impact.
Then she froze.
Slowly, she looked down at her hand.
She was still holding the little girl's hand.
It had been torn apart.
The rest of the girl's body was completely crushed beneath the massive piece of broken wall.
Elizabeth stared in horror at the stone.
Blood slowly flowed out from beneath it.
The only thing left in her hand was the little girl's torn hand.
Slowly, Elizabeth lifted her head and looked toward the direction from which the wall had been thrown.
It was the General Demon.
It still stood in the distance, its eyes filled with bloodthirst.
Before Elizabeth could react—
Another demon suddenly lunged at her.
Its claw slashed forward and pierced through her left shoulder.
"Aaah!" Elizabeth screamed in agony as the claw drove through her flesh.
The force of the attack pushed her backward, nearly knocking her to the ground.
Warm blood poured down her arm.
Her fingers loosened, and the little girl's torn hand slipped from her grasp, falling silently onto the blood-soaked ground.
The demon growled, its monstrous face only inches away from hers, its hot breath reeking of blood and rotting flesh.
Elizabeth's vision shook as the pain spread through her body.
For a moment, she thought she might collapse.
But then—
She gritted her teeth.
Her trembling, twisted, broken right hand slowly rose.
"ψηλή σφραγίδα!" (High Seal!) she whispered weakly.
A faint glowing seal began to form.
Then, in a flash, it shot forward and pierced through half of the demon's head.
The creature's body went limp.
A moment later, it collapsed forward—
Falling directly onto Elizabeth.
Both she and the demon's lifeless body crashed onto the ground together.
The massive weight of the creature pressed down on her.
Its corpse crushed against her injured arm and battered body.
A sharp wave of pain shot through her as she struggled beneath its weight.
Breathing heavily, Elizabeth fought to push the demon off her.
Her pierced shoulder and broken arm throbbed with unbearable pain.
Gritting her teeth, she pushed against the heavy body.
Slowly… painfully… she managed to shove it aside.
With great effort, Elizabeth forced herself to stand.
Her legs trembled violently.
She had almost no strength left.
Blood continued to run down her body as she limped forward, barely able to remain upright.
Then—
The General Demon rushed toward her.
Its massive body moved with terrifying speed, surrounded by a deadly, bloodthirsty aura.
Elizabeth felt it immediately.
Her head snapped up.
She saw the monster charging straight toward her.
Panic surged through her exhausted body.
Hurrying, she raised her trembling left hand.
"μεγάλη σφραγίδα—!" (Great Seal!)
Her voice was weak and rushed.
She didn't even have time to finish the incantation.
Only half of the barrier formed before her.
But the General Demon was already too close.
With a single brutal strike, it shattered the incomplete seal.
The impact exploded outward.
Elizabeth was thrown away again—farther than before.
Her body crashed into a pile of corpses scattered across the ground.
The dead bodies broke her fall.
And in that horrifying way—
They saved her life.
Several of her ribs cracked from the impact.
She lay sprawled across the pile of bodies, gasping desperately for air as waves of pain tore through her body.
Around her, the other demons did not attack.
They simply continued slaughtering the remaining civilians.
They knew.
She was the prey of the General Demon.
Slowly, the towering monster approached her.
Without hesitation, it grabbed her by the left leg.
Before she could react, the demon swung her through the air and hurled her toward a massive pile of broken wall fragments.
She had no time to breathe.
Just before her body could be crushed against the stone, she whispered weakly,
"σφραγίδα…" (Seal…)
A fragile barrier formed around her.
It shattered instantly upon impact, but it absorbed enough force to prevent her from dying immediately.
Even so, her body slammed violently into the jagged stones.
Blood flowed from her head, running down her face and covering her right eye.
Through blurred vision, she looked up.
The General Demon was walking toward her.
Slowly.
Calmly.
Elizabeth gathered what little strength remained.
In agony, covered in blood, she began crawling up the unstable pile of broken stones.
Each movement felt as if her body were tearing apart.
But she kept climbing.
Finally, she reached the top.
Then—
The General Demon suddenly leaped into the air.
It landed directly in front of her.
Elizabeth first saw its massive feet.
Slowly, painfully, she lifted her head.
The demon was smiling.
Its long tongue slid across its lips as it licked the blood from them.
Elizabeth trembled in terror.
Suddenly, the demon threw a punch toward her.
She raised her trembling hand and shouted desperately,
"μεγάλη σφραγίδα!" (Great Seal!)
A glowing barrier formed—
And shattered instantly beneath the demon's fist.
The impact created a violent burst of air pressure.
The barrier saved her life.
But the pressure crushed her body.
Blood spilled from her mouth.
The demon pulled back its fist.
Then it punched again.
"μεγάλη σφραγίδα!" (Great Seal!)
Another barrier formed.
Another punch shattered it.
Again and again it continued.
Punch.
Barrier.
Shatter.
Punch.
Barrier.
Shatter.
Each time the barrier broke, crushing air pressure slammed into Elizabeth's body.
Her bones screamed in agony.
Blood poured from her mouth.
The broken stones beneath her began cracking from the repeated impacts.
For several minutes the brutal assault continued.
Finally—
The General Demon raised its fist one last time.
Elizabeth's body trembled.
She had no strength left.
Still, with the final breath in her lungs, she whispered,
"μεγάλη σφραγίδα…"
A weak barrier appeared.
The demon's final punch shattered it instantly.
This time, the fist did not stop.
It slammed directly into Elizabeth's face—
Crushing into her left eye.
Elizabeth collapsed onto the ground, with no strength or will left, as though her life itself were fading away.
The General Demon stepped closer.
It grabbed her twisted, broken right hand and lifted her toward its face.
The moment her shattered arm was raised, unbearable pain shot through her body.
"Aaah!" Elizabeth screamed in agony.
Blood continued pouring from the wound in her left shoulder.
The demon leaned closer and slowly licked the blood flowing from it.
Elizabeth stared at the monster.
Deep down, she knew.
Her time was up.
She was going to die.
And then—
Memories of her life began flashing through her mind.
A childhood memory surfaced.
She stood on the training ground with her father.
"Dad, I don't want to learn sword fighting or magic!" child Elizabeth complained, throwing a tantrum.
Her father smiled warmly and patted her head.
King Basileus Theron said gently,
"Eli, don't say that. Someday you will rule this kingdom, and you must be strong as its ruler."
Child Elizabeth crossed her arms stubbornly.
"No! And seal magic is lame and boring!"
King Basileus Theron chuckled.
"What? It's not boring at all. Only those who don't understand it say that," he replied with a calm smile.
Then he leaned closer, lowering his voice.
"So… let me teach you a powerful spell that our first ancestor used. But don't tell your mother."
Child Elizabeth's eyes widened with excitement.
"Really?" she asked eagerly.
"Yes," he replied.
"And the spell is called—"
"Woah!" child Elizabeth gasped.
Her father laughed softly.
"It's cool, right?"
The young Elizabeth nodded excitedly.
Elizabeth suddenly snapped back to reality.
The General Demon's enormous mouth opened wide as it prepared to devour her.
But in that final moment—
She forced every last bit of strength remaining in her body.
Slowly, she lifted her left hand.
Then she pushed it straight into the demon's mouth.
Its sharp teeth cut deeply into her hand.
Blood poured out.
The General Demon did not react.
Instead, it slowly began licking her bleeding hand with its long tongue.
Elizabeth stared at it.
Then she whispered weakly,
"Κόλαση Σφραγίδα…"
(Hell Seal.)
For a brief moment, everything fell silent.
Then—
The seal activated.
The seal forms inside the demon's body, where nobody can see it.
The power erupts.
Then General Demon's body burst apart from within.
Its massive form exploded into pieces.
Blood and flesh scattered everywhere, splattering across Elizabeth.
Her body dropped from the air.
A massive seal appeared.
It formed as a towering obsidian-black circular disc nearly ten meters tall, carved with glowing crimson runes that writhed like infernal flames.
Then it vanished.
Around her, the demons froze.
They had seen it.
Their General had been killed.
Fear spread among them instantly.
The demons began fleeing in panic, running in every direction.
The surviving townspeople and knights watched in shock.
They couldn't understand what had just happened.
But slowly… relief spread across their faces.
The battlefield fell silent again.
Dead bodies covered the ground.
Blood stained the streets.
Broken buildings and scattered limbs lay everywhere.
The sun was already setting.
Its final rays of light fell upon Elizabeth—
Still kneeling at the top of the pile of broken wall pieces.