The Author's POV

I was in a real dilemma at the moment.

Azeroth's rank was approximately <S> rank. It was an impressive rank, but for me, who was one rank ahead of him, his pressure wasn't anything that made me feel 'threatened'.

With all my skills and sword art, he couldn't kill me unless I let him hit me.

Not only that, but my current goal was to make it appear as if the battle had been hard fought.

That meant figuring out how to keep my strength in check while also displaying something good enough for the other demons to believe that getting rid of me now, rather than later, was the best option.

"How should I do this? ...Should I just let him hit me first and then attack, or should I just pretend to get hurt?"

Unknowingly, I began to blurt out my thoughts. Azeroth's glare made me notice this as his figure vanished and reappeared in front of me.

Unlike some of the opponents that I faced in the past, he wasn't one to talk much as he directly attacked after hearing my provocative words.

He was so quick that it appeared as if he had teleported to me.

Clang—!

I easily parried his blow by extending my sword to the right, where it collided with his sharp claws and produced a deafening metallic ring that reverberated through the air.

"Uek!"

I let out a loud 'groan' and moved back a couple of steps in the air.

"Pretend to be hurt? With this strength? "

Azeroth's furious voice reverberated throughout the air, and his figure vanished once more. The next instant, he was standing right next to me again.

"Pathetic!"

Swooosh—!

As his claws came hurtling toward my face, I felt a wind that was both chilly and acerbic blow past me.

In that split second, I saw a few strands of my hair softly fly in front of my vision, and at the same time, I felt a sharp sting on the area directly below my right eye.

Azeroth's figure materialized not long after.

"You dodged that?"

He asked in a tone that suggested he was somewhat surprised. In the meantime, I reached up to touch my face and felt a wet sensation on my palm.

'Blood...'

His last attack had caused me to bleed.

'This is much harder than I thought.'

Not engaging in conflict with him, but rather making the fight seem closer than it actually was. I would have been in a bit of trouble if the chip hadn't told me where to move in order to get grazed.

'He's coming again.'

I felt a sudden surge of demonic energy coming from opposite me. Without a doubt, Azeroth was pissed.

Once more, his form vanished and then reappeared in front of my very eyes. This time around, he was moving even more quickly than he had in the past. It wasn't just by a little bit; rather, it was by a quite significant margin.

'Right eye.'

At the precise instant that he vanished from view, I cocked my head to the left. His lanky arm materialized in the exact position where my head had been before.

Azeroth's eyes widened in surprise. He seemed to want to scream 'How?' but I never gave him time to think about it as I pressed my hand against his chest and pushed.

Booom—!

After I focused some of my mana into my palm, his body was propelled backward at high speeds, only coming to a stop after eight rings formed behind him.

"Huek!"

His back arched backward, and he let out a painful groan. Shortly after that, pointing my finger in his direction, four more rings formed. All four pressing down on his wings.

I motioned downward with my hand, and his body collided with the ground.

Booom—!

A massive crater formed beneath me.

"Haaa....Haaa..."

Obviously, I had to make it look as though I was having a tough time. What better way than by breathing heavily?

'...My life would've been so much easier if I paid more attention to the chip inside of my head.'

Meanwhile, I secretly regretted my decision to only learn to use the chip in the past couple of years.

It was only because of the chip inside my head that I was able to accomplish all of this.

Based on the direction in which Azeroth's eyes were looking, the path that his body was shifting toward, and the hand that he was raising, I was able to figure out where exactly he was going to try to attack and easily predict his movements.

It was a lifesaver.

'Let's finish this.'

After a casual sweep of the battlefield, I noticed that the other three Marquis-ranked demons were fighting against Silug and the other orcen chief, still unaware of what had happened.

My body began to levitate downwards.

After making contact with the ground, I came to a halt in front of Azeroth, who was being restrained by more than twenty distinct rings at the moment.

'Will twenty rings do?'

After watching Azeroth for a while and noticing the rings shaking, I finally shook my head and pressed my hand down in the air. A total of five additional rings materialized in the air and began to press against his body.

The shaking came to a stop.

"Khhh..."

I could hear Azeroth's groan echo as he struggled with all his might to break free from the hold, but it was a futile effort on his part.

He was stuck to the ground after using the second effect of [Ring of Vindication], gravity manipulation.

He might have been able to escape if there had only been a couple of rings on his body, but with over twenty-five rings on his body, it was impossible.

"You!...You!...You!"

Unable to get out of the restraints, Azeroth glared at me.

I cast a brief glance toward the distance, where Silug and Omgolug were, and there I saw them working together to stop the Marquis-ranked demons who had noticed what was going on with Azeroth.

It was at this moment that I realized that I needed to hurry, thus...

I lowered my body a little and whispered to Azeroth.

"Just know that I'm grateful for the help you've lent me in the past. Had it not been for you, I would've never been able to be as strong as I am today..."

When I said those words, I pressed my hand down, and the ground beneath me cracked. Azeroth's body buckled under the strain, and his core shattered with a flick of my finger.

Just like that, Azeroth died, and the surroundings came to a standstill.

SHIIIING.

I drew my sword from my waist, unconcerned about the reactions of those around me. Then, pressing my foot against the ground, I propelled my body forward and began attacking all of the other demons.

'...This much should do."

***

Observing the entirety of the battlefield from a gigantic orb were several demons.

The demons' attention seemed to waver between the gigantic orb that stood in the middle of the room and the figure that stood at the far end of the room as an eerie and menacing stillness spread throughout the halls that they were in.

At this point, it was fairly obvious that the war had come to an end, with the orcs emerging victorious as a result.

At that precise instant, everyone's attention was drawn towards a particular figure with black hair and blue eyes that reaped through the hordes of demons inside the gigantic orb.

He was like a god of death, stomping and slaying all the demons that were in his immediate vicinity. His face was quite pale, which was a clear indication that he was growing increasingly tired. However, with the assistance of Silug and Omgulong, he was able to continue reaping through the lives of the demons.

"…It's all that human's fault."

The silence was broken by a demon. Almost immediately, he began to point the finger of blame for their defeat in the direction of the mysterious human who had suddenly appeared out of nowhere.

Despite the fact that the war was never planned out to begin with and that the army that left was only a small portion of the real army they had, the demons that were present still held an increasing resentment for the human that was in the orb.

"Had it not been for him, Azeroth and the others should have been able to emerge victorious."

"Yeah, yeah, it's all that humans' fault."

"If he didn't join in, we would've been able to annihilate all of the orcs in one go."

As more and more demons joined in on the discussion, the room, which had been relatively quiet before, quickly became noisy.

Tap.

At that precise second, a distinct low-pitched noise could be heard reverberating throughout the entire hall. Immediately after that, a terrifying energy started spreading stealthily throughout the entire corridor, and it immediately rendered the mouths of every demon that was there, shut.

"Prepare yourselves for battle."

The figure rose from the throne, and a solemn tone could be heard reverberating throughout the hall as he spoke. Everyone in the room suddenly adopted a solemn bearing and looked at one another while maintaining an expression of grave concern.

A demon with deep red eyes, long black hair, two large horns, and an elegant bearing stepped forward while grasping a wooden cane in his right hand.

"Azeroth's sacrifice was not in vain. With this, I'm able to grasp the relative strength of the human that stepped forward. Have all the armies prepare for battle, I will personally take action. "

The moment it was revealed that 'he' would personally take action, the entirety of the room went into an eerie silence.

Stepping down a small flight of stairs, the demon issued another order.

"Instruct the demons that are fighting to continue fighting. Tell them that if they run away, I will personally ensure that they meet their end."

His command caused the numerous demons that were present to become perplexed. Why did he not have the demons retreat, and join them later? Why must they continue fighting? Wouldn't that just lead to their death? Was he perhaps still bearing a grudge for going out without his orders?

Although they were all perplexed, none of the demons had the courage to express their bewilderment. This was how terrifying the demon that stood in front of them was.

Sweeping a glance at the demon delegates, the demon's brows furrowed. A chilling pressure spread throughout the entirety of the hall.

"...What are you waiting for?"

"Yes!"

One by one, the demons disappeared from their spots, and it wasn't long before everyone was gone. Leaving only one person behind.

Casting a gaze on the orb and focusing his attention on the human that was displayed on it, the demon mumbled.

"How did humans manage to enter this planet? Should I relay this to his majesty? "

***

SHIIIING!

Two demons' necks were severed by my blade as it sliced through them. I reached out with the palm of my hand to grab their cores, and I crushed them between the fingers of my extended hand.

"...I think this is about enough."

As I pressed my foot against the ground, the edges of my vision began to blur, and I realized that I was several kilometers away from the battlefield.

I could hear the sound of metal clashing in the distance, along with the pitiful shrieks of the demons who were being swatted away like flies by the orcs, who seemed to have been reinvigorated by the deaths of the leading demons.

'I think I showed just about enough strength.'

When I noticed that some of the demons were deliberately moving away from me, I decided it was time to leave the battlefield.

After putting my sword away and ensuring that everything was in order, I made my way back toward the castle.

When I turned around to head back toward the castle, I found that there were no obstacles in my way. I was already back in the building within five minutes, and from there, I headed toward the lower levels of the castle.

"I wonder if Ryan is already done."

I mouthed my thoughts out loud as I descended a flight of stairs. After I descended to the lower levels, I proceeded forward until I came to an old wooden door.

I grasped the old metal handle and opened the door.

"How long will it take?"

"Not too long, give it an hour."

"...Okay."

It was there that I was met with the sight of Angelica and Ryan talking to each other while large metallic wires and panels appeared all over the place.

Their heads snapped in my direction as soon as they noticed the door opening.

I greeted them while dabbing away some of the blood that was on my body.

"Looks like you guys are having a hard time."