Without hesitation, the group of heroes headed straight for the Demon King's castle upon sighting his figure. They no longer paid attention to the enemies around them; their priority was the Demon King. Every obstacle in their path was swiftly eliminated. Ray, as usual, led his group by being at the forefront.
*Ray, you are a failed hero. You failed to destroy the Demon nation's defenses. You failed...* an eerie voice began to echo in Ray's mind. After hearing the provocation, Ray sped up, leaving his group behind.
"Ray!" Zack shouted.
Ray could no longer hear Zack's calls. His focus was solely on that strange voice.
"Why is that guy suddenly moving so fast?" Jilk wondered.
"Come on, we can't leave Ray alone!" Sofia urged.
With a blink of an eye, Ray entered the castle area. He was unaware that his group was no longer behind him.
'TEENNGG!'
"Arghhhh!" Zack suddenly soared when attempting to enter the castle area.
"Zack!" Rose called out.
"Are you okay, Zack?" Sofia asked.
"What's wrong with you suddenly?" Jilk inquired.
"I don't know, I feel like something is blocking me from entering!"
"Hah?" The others were puzzled.
"Don't talk nonsense, how did Ray get in then!... HUH?" Jilk initially didn't believe Zack's words. After trying to approach the castle area, his hand seemed to touch something.
Sofia approached to feel for herself what was preventing them from entering. "It's an illusionary wall!"
"Illusionary wall!" Zack and Rose exclaimed.
"Hah, an illusionary wall! Nothing can stop me from entering!... Jilk Burst!" Jilk attacked the wall, thinking that it would shatter with his assault. However, in reality, the wall was completely unaffected by Jilk's attack.
"Hahaha, you think such a weak attack can destroy that wall!" a voice seemingly from nowhere suddenly echoed for the heroes.
"Who's there?" Jilk asked.
Then the person revealed themselves in front of them. It was Demon Lord Dolce.
"Who are you?" Zack questioned.
"Haha, an interesting question from a hero!" Demon Lord Dolce replied.
"Don't joke around; we don't have time to deal with you!" Jilk launched an attack on Demon Lord Dolce.
'Teeenngg' Jilk's attack was blocked by the illusionary wall.
"Heh, I didn't expect to be insulted like this!" Demon Lord Dolce became angry after being looked down upon by the heroes. The heroes, however, had no recognition of her, making her cold.
A powerful aura emanated from Demon Lord Dolce and was felt by the heroes. 'Shooosh!'
"Huh?" The heroes were surprised when Demon Lord Dolce, in the blink of an eye, appeared right in front of them.
"JILK!" Sofia yelled.
'Zeenng' Swiftly, Demon Lord Dolce attacked Jilk with his rapier.
"Erghhh!" Jilk couldn't react in time to dodge.
'Kriinnnk' Zack managed to save Jilk by parrying the attack.
"Gerghh!" Despite Zack's defense, the impact of the attack was so strong that it made Zack's hand tremble.
"Heh, I can't believe you guys killed Vishnal. You're too weak!"
"Vishnal!" Rose started to think as if she had heard that name before.
"Ahhh, be silent!" Jilk hastily attacked Demon Lord Dolce once again. This time, Demon Lord Dolce was no longer behind the illusionary wall.
'Whooosh'
"Your attacks are too slow!" Demon Lord Dolce easily dodged Jilk's attack.
"Be careful, he's a Demon Lord!" Rose shouted to her friend, recalling the name Demon Lord Vishnal.
"What!" Jilk couldn't dodge in time.
"Shooting Rapier!" Demon Lord Pico's rapier swiftly attacked Jilk repeatedly.
"Arghhhh!" Stab after stab left severe wounds on Jilk. He soared with his body covered in blood.
"JILK!" Sofia and Rose yelled.
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Fat, Doug, Kiel, and Nancy moved towards the castle area. In front of them stood Demon Lord Dylas, who had earlier tried to block Raqnid's Eclipse Moon Strike.
"Stop!" Nancy shouted to them.
"Why, Nancy?" Kiel asked.
Fat and Doug also stopped after hearing Nancy's shout. They were puzzled about why Nancy suddenly yelled.
"There's something dangerous ahead of us!" Nancy could already sense the presence of the Demon Lord in front of them, even though they were still surrounded by a multitude of Demon soldiers.
"What do you mean, Nancy?" Doug asked.
"There's an extremely powerful enemy ahead of us!"
"Powerful! How powerful?"
"Stronger than anything we've faced before. Perhaps, it's a Demon Lord!"
"Demon Lord!" The three of them were surprised to hear the news.
"Hey! Hey! Isn't it the Hero's job to defeat them, not ours!" Fat said.
"HUH!" Nancy felt something.
"QUICK, DODGE! IN FRONT OF US!" Nancy yelled.
"HUH?" The three of them were shocked and then ran.
They saw a Demon Lord in the air targeting the four of them. Then, he attacked the area they were in using only his fist.
'KBOOOM!'
All nearby Demon soldiers were thrown into the air, while the four of them managed to dodge the attack.
"Hehehe! What are you guys chatting about!" Demon Lord Dylas grinned.
"Ughhh!"
"He sensed us!" Kiel said.
"It's impossible for us to escape now!" Doug replied.
"Apologies for the interruption; my ears are too sensitive when people talk about me!" Demon Lord Dylas stood, his fist ready to attack.
"We have to fight!" Fat, being the closest to Demon Lord Dylas, spoke up.
"I want to ask a question! If you can answer it, I will let you all go." says Demon Lord Dylas.
"A question?"
"Who performed the second moon shot? Judging from the direction the arrow came from, I guarantee that the second moon shot was done by a different person."
"Why do you want to know?" Doug asked.
"Because I want revenge for the death of Demon Lord Vishnal!"
"What do you mean! The Hero killed Demon Lord Vishnal!" Kiel questioned.
"Hahaha! Hero! Are you sure it was the Hero who killed him? From what I know, after months of searching, Vishnal's death was caused by a long-range attack. The attack was fast and difficult to detect."
"An archer!" Fat exclaimed.
"Yes, only an archer can execute such an attack. Fast and hard to detect. The second moon shot, I can feel that it was the same person who killed Vishnal."
"So it wasn't the Hero who killed Demon Lord Vishnal!" Kiel, Doug, and Nancy were surprised.
"Heh, do you think we will tell you!" Fat grinned.
"You're asking for death!"
*Raqnid, how many secrets are you keeping from me!* Fat thought.
"Prepare to take my next punch. Hiyarghhh!" Demon Lord Dylas swiftly moved towards Fat and then slammed his fist onto Fat's shield.
"DHOOOOOM!"
"Arghhhhh!" Kiel, Doug, and Nancy could feel the intense pressure from the attack.
"FAATTTT!" Doug shouted.
"Hah! I'm okay!" Fat responded, still standing firm while holding his shield. The attack caused him to move 10 feet from his original position.
"Huh?" Demon Lord Dylas was astonished to see Fat still standing strong after receiving his attack.
"No one has been able to withstand my punch before, except for other Demon Lords and the Demon King. But you, a mere human, can stand perfectly after receiving my attack. Interesting! Very interesting! Today, I've received so many surprises. First, a moon shot that can easily destroy the most durable sword in history. Now, a human who can stand perfectly after receiving my attack. Alright, I'll play with you before I look for the archer who killed Vishnal. Let's go!"
*Sorry, I also have kept something from you, Raqnid! So, we're even now.* Fat spoke in his mind.
**************
Name: Fat
Title: Legendary Defender
Job: Knight
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