Wildfire's flames roared upward, shaking the hall.
"Yes! You're right.
I will burn the entire human Kingdom to ash, and the Hero will die by my flames!
I will become the third Demon General!"
Wildfire Returns to the Present
Wildfire's thoughts snapped back to the present.
The Fire Demons had already begun hunting down the scattered knights, and flames were rising in multiple places throughout the vast forest.
Red light flickered between the treetops, smoke curled upward in slow, heavy spirals.
Wildfire smiled with deep satisfaction — everything was unfolding exactly as he had planned.
"Good… time for me to join the fun," he growled, his flames rising higher.
"I'll drop the Demon Toad somewhere along the way. It'll find its prey eventually — just like I will. Doesn't matter where it starts. Hahaha!
Ah, finally… I'm in the home stretch. I'll roast the Hero's flesh and devour every last bite.
Then I'll become the third Demon General!
Now move!"
The massive Fire Demon spread his blazing wings and soared above the forest.
The air crackled around him, and the leaves of the trees beneath him curled and blackened from the heat.
Once he reached a suitably deep part of the woods, he made a simple, almost casual motion — and dropped the magic crystal.
The crystal struck the ground and shattered into shards.
Demonic energy burst outward, shaking the earth, and from within emerged the Demon Toad — a massive, grotesque magical beast capable of swallowing a small dragon whole.
Its body was covered in armor‑like, knobby hide, its eyes glowed a sickly yellow, and the ground cracked beneath each step it took.
Wildfire watched it for a moment, satisfied, then flew on.
Now he was searching for his own targets.
His hunt had begun.
Arc 15 – Wildfire
The teleportation wave — summoned by the demons through the sacrifice of seven Demon Shamans — swept across the ancient forest of Greenwood.
The wave scattered every knight, hunter, and noble to random locations throughout the vast wilderness, flinging them far apart from one another.
The unlucky ones found themselves completely alone; the fortunate ones landed in pairs.
The hunt had begun.
The real hunt — where humans were no longer the hunters, but the prey.
Now let us see, one by one, what danger each person has fallen into.
We begin with Young Wolf.
Andras turned slowly, scanning his surroundings.
"Alright… let's see what kind of mess I've landed in," he muttered. "Looks like I'm still somewhere in Greenwood Forest. My allies are nowhere in sight. The purpose of the teleportation wave was clearly to separate us.
The fact that no demon has attacked me yet means they don't know where anyone ended up either. The wave scattered us randomly."
MS Eli's spectral form flickered faintly around the staff.
"A teleportation of this magnitude requires an enormous amount of magical power.
This would normally take at least fifty Demon Shamans… which I doubt. Even in my era, the Demon Army never had that many shamans."
"Or?" Andras asked.
"Or a handful of Demon Shamans sacrificed their lives to provide the power needed for the ritual."
Andras's expression darkened.
"So they sacrificed a few demons just to hunt us down one by one?
That's… an excellent strategy.
I thought demons were barbaric creatures, but it seems at least one of them is a competent tactician."
MS Eli suddenly tensed.
"We're not alone. Someone's coming!"
"Get back into the staff," Andras whispered, already placing his hand on the hilt of his sword.
Young Wolf's encounter with the Silver Knight
From between the trees, a Silver Knight stepped forward.
Her sword was raised, her expression tense — but when she saw Andras, relief washed over her face.
"A Silver Knight?" Andras muttered. "I was expecting a demon."
"Young Wolf?" the girl spoke up. "What happened? Where are we? Where is everyone?"
Andras tilted his head slightly.
"First of all… who are you?"
The girl quickly bowed.
"Right, we haven't met in person. My name is Ritta. I'm the youngest member of the Captain's elite female Silver Knights, and Lady Amelia's personal knight and bodyguard. I'm seventeen, and my element is wind. It's an honor to meet you."
"That explains why you're unfamiliar," Andras nodded. "You weren't there for the Blue Ogre battle."
"I was still just a knight‑apprentice back then," Ritta replied. "So… may I ask what exactly happened?"
"The demons teleported us apart," Andras said grimly. "They want to hunt us down one by one."
Ritta's face went pale.
"That's terrible! Then Lady Amelia is alone in the forest?! We have to find her immediately!"
"And do you know where to look?" Andras asked calmly. "This forest is enormous, and unfamiliar to us. We have no idea where anyone ended up."
Ritta bit her lip.
"Then what now? What will happen to Lady Amelia?"
"If she's lucky," Andras said, "she landed near Christina, or anyone strong enough to protect her from demons."
"And if she's not lucky?" Ritta whispered, her voice trembling. "If she's alone… or worse, if she ran into a demon?"
Andras's gaze darkened.
"Only the strong will survive this battle."
"Isn't there anything we can do to save her?" Ritta asked desperately.
"You're not even guaranteed to save yourself," Andras answered honestly. "Our enemy is a Demon General — and enough Fire Demons to attack the strongest knights of the Kingdom without hesitation."
Ritta lowered her head.
"We should never have brought Lady Amelia with us…"
"We didn't expect the demons to use a strategy like this," Andras said. "Neither I nor Christina. There's no point dwelling on what could have been. Focus on surviving.
If the Goddess wills it, we'll run into Amelia along the way. Then we can save her."
Ritta steadied herself and nodded firmly.
"Yes, sir!"
Young Wolf's first battle in the forest
"Damn it… they've already found us," Andras hissed, placing his hand on the hilt of his sword.
"Get ready. Three imps. I'll take two — at least kill one of them."
"W‑what? Where? From which direction?!" Ritta spun around in panic.
The next moment, three impspawn burst out of nowhere.
Their shrill, screeching cries tore through the air as they lunged at Andras and the young Silver Knight.
Andras didn't reach for his staff — the Rune Blade flashed into his hand.
With a single sweeping strike, he cut down the first imp, then rolled sideways to evade the second's attack.
Using the momentum of the movement, he spun around and delivered a clean, precise slash that felled the second creature as well.
The third imp leapt at Ritta — but the girl was faster.
Calling upon the power of her wind element, she slipped to the side in a swift, gliding motion, then drove her blade straight through the demon's small body.
The creature shrieked and collapsed to the ground.
Ritta looked around, breathing hard.
"These demons… they're not that strong."