Planet Earth—the battlefield that bore witness to the end of a long war, one that ravaged humanity and dragged it to the brink of extinction.
An entire race had been nearly erased by a single existence... a monster among monsters—Agaroth, the King of Demons.
He still stood, even after defeating the entire Shadow Sect and all of humanity alone. Only two opponents remained before him...
The Great One of Earth, who had manipulated the Devourer of Chaos and turned it against him... and Sieghart, the transcendent prodigy who had appeared out of nowhere.
Despite the exhaustion and damage he had suffered after his thunderous battle against Nameless, Agaroth had still crushed the Devourers of Chaos and the Great One with ease... nearly killing the latter, had it not been for Sieghart’s intervention.
Ranked fifth among the Seven Great Powers, the man who had only recently entered the ranking after defeating Kalman II... now stood on the opposite side of the battlefield against the Demon King himself.
"You should have run. You’ve just thrown your life away."
Agaroth’s voice carried that chilling weight capable of freezing even the strongest of hearts.
When his gaze fell upon Sieghart, his eyes held no emotion whatsoever. He expected nothing from him... granted him no value at all.
To him, Sieghart was nothing more than another insect to be crushed—just like all the others before him.
But Sieghart disagreed.
Not only that ... he dared to smile... even laugh in the Demon King’s face.
"I know exactly what you’re capable of, Demon King... but—"
The transcendent raised his head toward the sky, gently gripping the hilt of his sword.
"Today... is not the day I die. My instincts told me so... and they’ve never been wrong."
"Then come... let’s test that claim."
The King answered, and Sieghart moved first.
With a single swing, he unleashed a massive arc of aura toward Agaroth—an overwhelming surge of green energy released in one motion.
The King stopped it effortlessly... simply by raising his hand.
Though his first attack failed, Sieghart did not falter. He circled Agaroth at extreme speed, moving so fast it seemed as though multiple copies of him had appeared.
His blade ignited with radiant light, and countless cutting arcs descended upon the King from every direction.
Agaroth extended his shadow in response, nullifying the attacks before retaliating with shadow spears.
Sieghart barely managed to deflect them, redirecting their trajectory with his blade.
The moment he repelled the first wave, he froze ...
The spears were coming again.
But this time... they were cloaked in a raging, cursed dark flame.
"Hah... I knew he could combine world-breaking abilities, but to use them this effortlessly..."
Agaroth’s attack was no joke.
It forced Sieghart to draw out his full power just to withstand it.
A violent torrent of aura erupted from within him, engulfing his blade in overwhelming force ... allowing him to deflect the combined power of Dark Soul and King’s Shadow.
For the first time, Agaroth looked at him with genuine interest.
Sieghart had finally displayed something... worth acknowledging.
"That surge of aura... is it the result of your innate ability?" the King asked, stepping toward him slowly as shadows danced around him.
"That’s right."
Green flames surged around Sieghart as he answered with pride.
"This... is the true power of humanity."
Agaroth laughed, amused.
From afar, the Great One of Earth watched in astonishment—
A human... not born on Earth.
A human born in a distant corner of the vast universe.
Sieghart was a descendant of a hero who had left Earth centuries ago—before the First Hero sealed the gates.
That hero had gone elsewhere, building a lineage far from Earth itself.
Though beings like Sieghart were technically half-human... they were still classified as human.
The only difference lay in the strange symbols etched across their bodies.
Sieghart stood at the pinnacle of that lineage ...
The greatest talent of his generation... no, the greatest in all of human history.
"Humans were never able to surpass the third stage of the SSS class... which is why they could never awaken their innate ability."
The Great One spoke, watching Sieghart closely.
He was different.
And Abraham Starlight was an exception—he was never truly a normal human, but something far more complex... much like his son, Frey.
Which meant...
Sieghart was the only one who had truly awakened humanity’s innate power.
"Humanity’s advantage... lies in our ability to evolve and adapt. We grow stronger... with every battle we fight."
Sieghart declared, power exploding through his blade.
Humanity’s journey had always been harsh—but once their innate ability awakened, their true potential erupted.
A human who reached that stage could grow stronger continuously through battle.
As long as they survived... their power would increase at an astonishing rate.
"That’s why I’ve always thrown myself into battlefields... again and again... to build this strength!"
His voice roared as his eyes burned with blazing aura.
He struck again ... unleashing a wave even stronger than before.
Agaroth responded with a blood blade of equal force, the two attacks annihilating each other upon impact.
Then, without pause ...
They drowned each other in countless destructive arcs, tearing through both sky and earth alike.
Green arcs of explosive aura... clashed against crimson blades born from the Blood Soul.
"So that’s how it is... human Sieghart."
Agaroth spoke slowly, his aura beginning to intensify.
"How unfortunate..."
More blood blades began to form around him, their numbers steadily increasing.
"I cannot devour innate abilities... otherwise, I would have taken yours with great pleasure."
The Demon King laughed—low, chilling, and utterly devoid of warmth.
With a casual wave of his hand, the crimson blood ignited, erupting into a strange red flame.
"You are the only human to have reached this level... what a shame you’ll die here."
The moment that fire appeared, its hue shifted ... tinged faintly with something closer to pink, while retaining a dim red glow.
The burning blood quickly seized the upper hand in their clash.
"Again... he fuses world-breaking abilities as if it’s nothing..."
Sieghart gritted his teeth, forcing himself to endure.
His blade moved with masterful precision, reaffirming his place as one of the greatest swordsmen in the world—a prodigious talent who had yet to even reach thirty.
But talent...
Was quickly buried beneath the overwhelming might of a being that defied all logic.
Sieghart’s eyes were special ... granting him vision far beyond that of any ordinary human.
As he stared at Agaroth, he saw the truth of that monstrous existence.
Agaroth’s body was not flesh, nor bone, nor blood...
It was a bottomless abyss of darkness.
An abyss that had devoured countless abilities and powers.
Strengths the Demon King had seized for himself, using them solely to serve his own will.
He was a living embodiment of overwhelming force... of tyranny... of absolute indifference.
An existence that did nothing but as it pleased.
And yet—even such a being could be wounded.
His current state proved it.
Beneath the veil of darkness covering his form, a long gash glowed with white light—
A deep wound stretching from his abdomen to his chest... even carving through one of his eyes.
The Demon King had lost the Eye of the King entirely.
Only one remained ...
The Eye of Fate.
’Despite facing countless opponents... the Lord of the Shadow Sect was the only one who managed to wound him...’
Trapped within the torrent of burning blood, Sieghart struggled to endure as his mind raced.
He needed a plan ... anything that could turn this situation.
He believed it completely—
That the answer lay in the damage Nameless had inflicted upon Agaroth.
’I can’t injure him... not truly. But... if I strike that wound with everything I have... maybe then...’
His eyes lit up as he searched for an opening.
At that very moment, another voice echoed within his mind.
’Descendant of ancient heroes... I know what you’re thinking. But you won’t even get close to that creature ... let alone strike it.’
The Great One of Earth’s voice resounded within him, startling Sieghart.