The formidable fortress of the Demon King of Incarceration was nestled within the Giant Centipede Mountains, whose twisting peaks resembled the slithering body of a monstrous insect. Moreover, the mountains actually wriggled like living creatures. Like a watchful sentinel, the mountain range served as a natural barrier, guarding the Demon King's stronghold and imprisoning anyone who dared to cross its treacherous terrain. Not only did the high walls that encircled the castle protect the Demon King, but they also ensured that any intruders who braved the mountain's deadly embrace would meet with a swift and merciless death.
As soon as one crossed the immense and dreadful Giant Centipede Mountains, the sky above would appear different, transformed by the overwhelming presence of the Demon King of Incarceration. His formidable power gradually spread through the world around him, painting it in his own colors and announcing his terrifying strength to any who approached.
Beyond the Giant Centipede Mountains, there existed no discernible day or night. The blazing sun could not penetrate the veil of darkness that enveloped the sky above the Demon King of Incarceration, and even the blackest of nights could not rival the oppressive shadows cast by the Demon King's Dark Power.
Neither bright nor dark existed under the gray sky. There was just red earth, the Red Plains, and the only other thing that could be found was a dull black mist.
The Black Fog was a knightly order of demonfolks headed by Gavid Lindman, the Blade of Incarceration and the henchman of the Demon King of Incarceration. In order to reach the castle of the Demon King of Incarceration, one needed to cross the Red Plains, the garrison of the Black Fog.
The might of the Black Fog was unmatched. Its knights numbered three hundred, and they had earned the moniker of the Nightmare of Helmuth. Countless armies and orders that had dared to challenge the castle of the Demon King of Incarceration had met their end at the hands of the fearsome Black Fog, leaving no survivors to tell the tale.
Despite the seemingly endless stream of despairing reports, there were those who refused to give up hope. While some were driven to flee in fear, others remained steadfast, convinced that their sacrifice would inspire others to take up arms and continue the fight — even if it meant they themselves would fall on the battlefield with swords embedded in their bodies. These brave souls chose to turn back from their fleeing steps and lay down their lives for the sake of a glimmer of hope.
‘Ah.’
Among the sea of lifeless bodies, one face stood out — the face of a knight that the group had encountered before crossing the mountains. He was one of the three broken knights they had chanced upon, the very same one who had tearfully implored them to defeat the Demon King and offered them the tasteless alcohol.
The upper body of the knight lay amid the corpses, separated from the rest of his body. However, the expression on his face was not one of anguish or resentment. It seemed as though his life had been cut short before he even had the chance to react. Nevertheless, Sienna couldn't bear to entertain the thought of such a bleak and dreadful end.
She wondered why this knight had met his end here after having expressed his desire to leave the Devildom and return to his hometown. Where were the other two knights whom the group had encountered with him? Had they changed their minds, or had this knight acted alone in his decision to confront the Demon King?
There was a crude symbol engraved on the crumpled chest plate of the knight, a coat of arms depicting a lion. It was a symbol that had come to represent Vermouth Lionheart at some point.
“Ahhhhhh!”
Loud shouts filled Sienna’s surroundings. There were now more than a thousand knights and soldiers marching on the Red Plains, and the symbol of the lion was engraved on the chests of all those charging forward.
Upon hearing that Vermouth, the Hero, was leading a group to the castle of the Demon King of Incarceration, the warriors had rallied to their cause. Despite their armor being rusty and dented, they had adorned it with the emblem of a lion and joined forces with Vermouth and his comrades to cross the treacherous Centipede Mountains. Now, they were charging headlong toward the Black Fog, which stood in their way on the Red Plains.
The vanguard rushed to their deaths. The Black Fog was as strong as or even stronger than the rumors had claimed. The human knights weren’t even properly armed, and they could do little more than serve as meat shields, absorbing a blow from the demons before falling to their deaths.
However, the Black Fog was not the only obstacle the warriors faced. Countless demonic beasts emerged from the castle and chased after the Black Fog, adding to the forces of the already overwhelming opposition. Nevertheless, despite the inevitable and irreparable losses they suffered, the deaths of their fellow warriors only fueled the survivors' determination and spirit. They became even more frenzied and resolved to fight on.
The knights and soldiers were undeterred because they knew their sacrifices would not be in vain. The Hero, Vermouth Lionheart, was among them, leading the charge and rallying their spirits as he raised the brilliant Holy Sword high above his head.
Moreover, it was not just Vermouth whom they followed. In fact, all four of his companions were by his side, fighting alongside the knights and soldiers as they pressed forward.
Molon charged forth, his body impervious to the sharp blades of the Black Fog. His howls echoed across the battlefield as he swung his axe and hammer, crushing the bodies of demonfolks and dispersing the fog. His determination to protect his comrades fueled his actions even as those around him fell.
Hamel followed right behind. Just as he had done in all the battles prior, Hamel stood by Vermouth and kept pace. Even in the midst of the chaotic battle, both Hamel and Vermouth participated in the unrestrained one-sided slaughter.
‘He didn’t use Ignition…. What a relief,’ Sienna thought.
She found momentary relief in the fact that with so many people fighting by their sides, the burden placed on Hamel was greatly reduced. This was one of the wishes of those knights accompanying the heroes.
They had come to lay down their lives for the Hero, Vermouth, and his companions to ensure they would not suffer much damage on their way to knocking down the Demon King of Incarceration. The warriors would help the Hero and his group be in the best condition possible, even if doing so would ultimately cost the knights and soldiers their lives.
Above them, a brilliant ray of Light shone in the sky, despite the absence of the sun. Sienna looked up and saw Anise praying while surrounded by injured priests. Their divine power was channeled to Anise, who unleashed miraculous abilities impossible for others to replicate.
The pouring light quickly healed the injuries of the group’s allies and transformed the fear glistening in their eyes, which reflected the blades of their enemies, into courage. The light energized the tired bodies and pushed back the Black Fog along with the Holy Sword while offsetting the Dark Power of the demonfolks. In addition, the demonfolks whose Dark Power was dispersed were purified just by becoming exposed to the Light.
“Lady Sienna! It’s ready!” a shout came from behind Sienna.
Sienna glanced back and nodded while clutching Akasha with both her hands.
After rising high off the ground, Sienna looked down. She saw, at best, dozens of survivors from Aroth’s magic corps as well as the war wizards of various nations… but Sienna could not consider any of them as true Archwizards.
Nevertheless, it didn’t matter. She had already weaved the spell beforehand and was taking care of everything, from the development of the spell to coordination. What did it matter even if there were only dozens of wizards and if none of them were Archwizards? Sienna alone was an Archwizard greater than hundreds of wizards combined.
The recitation began, and each time her lips moved, huge amounts of mana formed rings in Sienna’s body. Soon, nine rings had formed in total, and they overlapped into one large ring.
“Ah….” The wizards on the ground looked up at Sienna with reverential gazes.
They did not know exactly how Sienna formed her spells, but they knew that none of them could ever hope to reach the transcendental state she was in. The wizards did not know when the war with the demonfolks would come to an end, but one thing was clear regarding Sienna. Her name would be engraved as the biggest and clearest presence in the history of magic, and the name Sienna Merdein would serve as the turning point for wizards as a whole.
Even if the demonfolks ended up winning the war and all other existences were wiped out, the demonfolks would not be able to leave out the name Sienna Merdein when they referred back to the study of magic in the future.
If the continent were to win the war, then the future wizards of the continent — or rather, all wizards in the future — would aim to become like Sienna Merdein.
The magic was completed, and the rain of death began to fall. Hundreds of small bullets poured down like a meteor shower.
The bullets weren’t simple though. Each droplet of death was carefully constructed with high concentrations of mana, condensed to its limit. The projectiles of mana would penetrate the Dark Power protecting the demons, as well as their armor, before taking root inside their hearts and exploding.
Although the battlefield was a complete mess, Sienna’s onslaught of magic moved accurately and only struck the demon knights. The weaker demons of the Black Fog were slaughtered by dozens after being struck by the magical bullets, and the blood of over a hundred demonic beasts soaked the plains as they were ground into unrecognizable shapes.
“Sienna of Disaster—!” Gavid’s expression became distorted as he commanded the Black Fog.
His eyes glowed a crimson red, and the series of magical bullets exploded and disappeared.
Nonetheless, Sienna wasn’t finished yet. She accelerated her recitations as her bloodshot eyes glimmered. Akasha responded to her by emitting a brilliant light, and the wizards on the ground desperately kept pace in spite of the blood flowing freely from all of their facial orifices.
The sky started to distort, and an artificially formed sphere of overwhelming mass and weight began its descent to the ground, crushing the cloudy sky beneath it. It was a meteor. This wasn’t a meteorite drawn from outer space, but a mass of gigantic proportions, sufficient to wipe a country or even an entire civilization off the map.
Kwaaaaaah!
As the meteor started its descent, Gavid Lindman and the Black Fog looked up at the sky in horror. Even though Sienna of Disaster and Anise of Hell were here, it would be impossible for anyone to survive if a meteor of such a size crashed to the ground. Everyone, both the allies and the enemies, would be wiped out.
“Your Majesty!” shouted Gavid.
However, the giant projectile wasn’t aimed at the Red Plain but at the castle of the Demon King of Incarceration. If it were an attack formed by mana, there was always a high possibility that the Demon King of Incarceration would easily block it. Demon Kings had such power — the power to destroy human magic with a snort.
That’s why Sienna had insisted on launching a physical bombardment using a meteor. The gigantic mass, which had been created a few days prior, was large enough to crush the entirety of the castle of the Demon King of Incarceration.
Blood flowed freely from the lips of those reciting the incantations. They were guiding the meteor while adding dozens of attack magic to the surface of the meteor.
‘Die…!’ Sienna truly wished that the meteor would crush the terrible castle and that the Demon King of Incarceration would be buried alive without ever having the chance to put up any resistance.
Woooooooo—!
Darkness spewed from the towering fortress of the Demon King of Incarceration. The darkness seemed to form into a veil surrounding the castle, then it gathered into a single point at the top of one of the spires. The darkness wove into a chain before wrapping around the falling meteor.
There was no sound. There was no explosion, no roar, nothing. Just like that, the huge meteor disappeared. Sienna stumbled in the air, unable to believe what had just happened.
‘…The Demon King of Incarceration.’
Sienna glared at the castle. She could see a man standing at the top of the castle’s spire, where the chain had originated from. The Demon King of Incarceration was unlike any of the Demon Kings she had encountered until now. Although the horns on his head betrayed his identity, he looked very human. His appearance was strangely calm and small compared to the Demon King of Destruction, who took on no tangible form, or the other Demon Kings, who had been rather fierce and large in appearance.
As if having sensed Sienna’s gaze, the Demon King of Incarceration turned his gaze with a slight tilt of his head toward where Sienna stood in the sky.
Zing!
Simply meeting the Demon King of Incarceration’s gaze made Sienna feel as if her mind would collapse. A sharp headache threatened to knock her unconscious, and her body went crashing down.
“Hey. Are you okay?”
Fwoosh!
The wind brought forth a familiar smell. Sienna opened her eyes and turned her head to find Hamel, who had leaped to catch her from afar, before her. She gasped when she realized she was in Hamel’s arms.
“You smell like blood,” commented Sienna.
“Of course, I do,” responded Hamel with a nonchalant gaze while licking a stream of blood running down his cheek.
He was covered with the blood of the demonfolks he had slaughtered as well as the blood flowing from his own wounds. Sienna felt the blood soaking her robe as she tightened her grasp on Hamel’s clothes.
“…You didn’t use Ignition, did you?” asked Sienna.
“I didn’t,” responded Hamel.
“You’re lying,” said Sienna.
“It was only for a brief moment, so I basically didn’t. There’s barely any recoil,” grumbled Hamel, flicking her forehead with his finger. “Why don’t you worry about yourself instead of me, huh? I told you yesterday, didn’t I? Don’t aim for the castle. The Demon King of Incarceration isn’t an idiot, so how could he fail to deal with a magic attack right on top of his castle?”
“…But it was worth trying,” said Sienna.
“Right, right. Thanks to you, we were able to discover that your magic doesn’t have much of an impact on the Demon King of Incarceration,” said Hamel.
Sienna released Hamel’s collar while muttering in a small voice, “I can just use other types of magic.”
Thud.
Hamel placed Sienna on the ground before shaking his head. “Don’t use anything big, and just maintain your condition. I’m going.”
“Are you going to Vermouth?” asked Sienna hesitantly.
“Who else would I go to besides that bastard? I came here because I was surprised to see you fall, but Vermouth isn’t having it easy either. I’d like to take the head of that bastard, Gavid, today.” Hamel turned his head while clicking his tongue.
Booom!
An explosion resounded from the far side of the battlefield, and a murky moonlight soared into the sky. Vermouth had resorted to using the Moonlight Sword.
“…But that seems to be out of the question,” concluded Hamel.
Immediately afterward, he saw Gavid jump into the sky to escape the consecutive bursts of moonlight. His eyes glowed black, and Dark Power rose like a flame from the sword that he held with one hand. In combination with the power of the Demoneye of Divine Glory, the Demonic Sword Glory was preventing the moonlight from destroying everything in its path.
“This isn’t just a brief moment,” muttered Sienna while pressing down on her throbbing chest with her hand.
Hamel crossed the battlefield and joined Vermouth. He had no choice but to use Ignition to keep pace with Vermouth, who had taken out the Moonlight Sword.
“Liar,” Sienna spate accusingly.
Hamel had promised not to use Ignition in this battle, but… Sienna had not expected him to keep his promise. In order to enter the castle of the Demon King of Incarceration, it was necessary to conquer the Red Plains and exterminate the Black Fog, and that was why everyone was so desperate.
Despite being inferior in number, the scales of the battle were tipping in their favor because Sienna, Anise, Molon, Vermouth, and Hamel were dominating the battlefield. In spite of this, there were simply too many enemies. Each ally had to kill dozens of demonfolkss and demonic beasts to completely eliminate the enemy forces.
However, the knights and soldiers participating in the battlefield were incomparably weaker than Sienna and her comrades. Even so, they stabbed their enemies without hesitation despite losing their limbs. There were even people who triggered the mana in their body to explode along with their enemies.
Everyone was desperate because they knew the significance of today’s battle, and that’s why Sienna could not complain about Hamel’s lies. She took out a potion from the subspace inside her robe and gulped it down.
Afterwards, Sienna repeated the same actions from her sixteen years of battles. She chugged down potions like water to keep her mana stores up while unleashing bombardments of magic. She supported herself with Anise’s Light and took the path that Molon had carved.
Meanwhile, Sienna continued to observe Hamel and Vermouth as they pushed the enemy’s commander. Whenever she saw there was a chance, she threatened Gavid with her magic.
They fought for a long time. Even though day and night weren’t distinguished here, it felt as if they had battled for an entire day. The seemingly endless shouts slowly faded, and silence surfaced from time to time. The plains were colored red with blood, rather befitting of its name, and the stench of the corpses and blood was pungent.
Sienna recited incantations with lifeless eyes. Her lips were extremely dry and torn, causing blood to drip from her lips, but she still recited incantations while stumbling forward.
“…Sienna, Sienna!”
Arms clutched around Sienna’s waist from behind, and she came to a stop. Sienna jumped up and looked back. She saw a pale and lifeless face.
Anise was taking ragged breaths. She too reeked of blood.
“It’s over,” Anise stated.
“…Anise?” Sienna uttered.
“It’s over. Stupid Sienna! Even though you always berate Molon and Hamel, you’re no different from them. Have you been consumed by your magic again?” asked Anise.
It had been inevitable. In order to accurately distinguish between friend and foe while continuously casting spells, she needed to completely merge her consciousness with magic. However, doing so transformed her into a mobilized magic cannon optimized for battles.
“…I wasn’t consumed. This is…,” Sienna tried to refute.
“Yes, I know very well what you are trying to say. Anyways, it’s over,” said Anise while enduring her pain. She clicked her tongue as she looked over Sienna’s torn lips, ragged hands, and dragging feet. “At least you’re better off than Molon. That’s a relief.”
“How is Molon?” asked Sienna.
“Well, I don’t know where to start…. Both of his arms were severed about four times, and he lost his entire lower body once. Ah, that’s not including the injuries to his legs,” explained Anise.
“…..”
“Our damages…. In short, about two hundred people survived. Less than a hundred, if we’re excluding those who survived through the skin of their teeth, but yes, what’s important is that they are still alive,” continued Anise.
“What about Hamel and Vermouth?” asked Sienna.
“They’re fine,” answered Anise.
She let out a long sigh before stretching her hand toward Sienna.
Fwoosh…!
The Light coming from Anise’s hand was dim compared to the beginning of the battle, but the miracle quickly healed Sienna’s injuries.
“…But they missed the Blade of Incarceration.”
“Ah….”
“We couldn’t catch him once he made up his mind to run. Noir Giabella’s Demoneye of Fantasy was hard to deal with, but Gavid Lindman’s Demoneye of Divine Gory was…. To be completely honest, we would have been wiped out way earlier if Sir Vermouth had not been here,” said Anise.
She looked frustrated as she pursed her lips.
It was known that Gavid Lindman’s Demoneye of Divine Glory had been directly bestowed to him by the Demon King of Incarceration.
Who did Gavid Lindman treat as his god? It was the Demon King of Incarceration. As the name suggested, the Demoneye of Divine Glory allowed Gavid Lindman to borrow the power of his god. In other words, he could use the power of the Demon King of Incarceration.
Sienna silently clenched her trembling hand and turned her head.
She looked around the battlefield with stiff eyes. The number of corpses outnumbered the survivors by far.
‘Hamel.’
Then Sienna saw Vermouth supporting Hamel, who was rubbing off the blood around his mouth. Sensing Sienna’s gaze on him, Hamel raised his head to look at her.
Hamel waved his hand while speaking in a husky voice, “That bastard was pretty good at running.”
***
They gave up on recovering the corpses of allies, but they did not abandon the funeral. Anise and the few surviving clergies knelt on the bloodstained plains and prayed to their god to deliver the souls of the dead warriors to heaven.
“I decided to leave our back to them,” said Vermouth while staring at the Castle of the Demon King of Incarceration. “The forces of the Black Fog and the demonic beasts have been wiped out. The five of us will break through the remaining troops in the castle. The Shield, Staff, and Blade should be remaining in the caste, but… we five should be able to break through.”
“Yes, five,” Hamel muttered while sitting on the body of a demonic beast.
He looked rather calm despite having used Ignition. It was almost as if he were experiencing no aftereffects from using Ignition.
“…It will be better for us to go alone than for everyone to go. We can fight in any situation if it’s the five of us, and we’ll be able to take care of each other as well.”
“Shouldn’t we also keep in mind that demons and demonic beasts might join forces from outside the Centipede Mountains?”
“That’s why we’re leaving our backs to them,” answered Molon.
Although they had won the battle, the remaining troops looked as miserable as defeated soldiers. However, their eyes still glowed with a brilliant light.
He added, “They are warriors. They will protect us, even if it cost them their lives.”
“We’ll leave tomorrow,” said Hamel.
Anise flinched and stared at Hamel with astonishment. “Don’t be a fool. You, of all people, need to rest and—”
“I’m not experiencing any rebound,” Hamel cut in, raising himself up for everyone to see. “On the contrary, my body feels very light. Besides, if we stay here for a few days because of me, there would have been no point in targeting the plains.”
“But—”
“It’s fine,” asserted Hamel with a smile.
Vermouth stared at Hamel for a while and then nodded.
“…You are right. We’ve already come this far, so we cannot wait any longer. However, Hamel, promise me this. Just as I…. Just as we will not leave you behind, you cannot leave us behind,” Vermouth stated.
“Why are you making it sound so complicated? You’re just telling me not to die,” responded Hamel.
“We must go together from beginning to end. If you feel like you’re going to collapse in the middle, don’t force yourself and lean on us,” said Vermouth.
“Right, right.” Hamel waved his hand before springing down from the corpse of the demonic beast.
Sienna observed Hamel’s movements closely. Before, he had been unable to even move properly due to the rebound of Ignition. It appeared that he wasn’t lying about not experiencing any rebound.
‘The flow of mana… is stable as well. He’s fine.’ Sienna nodded while giving a sigh of relief.
Tomorrow, they would climb the Castle of the Demon King of Incarceration.