Raqnid suffered severe injuries from the Demon King's attack. It seemed impossible for him to rise again and face the Demon King.
*It's impossible for me to defeat this monster; he's too powerful. Razor was right, two years aren't enough. If only I hadn't killed Demon Lord Vishnal that day, this war wouldn't have happened so quickly. Gough.*
Raqnid thought it was all over, but fate favored him.
TINGG!!!
"Huh?" Demon King sensed something amiss.
"My power! My power is being blocked!"
Dragon Heart had been successfully activated just when Raqnid was on the brink of despair. But that wasn't the only twist of fate.
TINGGG!!!
Another miracle favored Raqnid as Rose's final spell reached him.
"Huh?" Raqnid felt surprised as his body and Ray's healed.
Raqnid stood up and observed Demon King in disarray.
"WHAT HAPPENED TO MY POWERRR!!!" Demon King roared.
"Hehe, Razor did it!" Raqnid grinned.
*********** FLASHBACK ********
"When Dragon Heart is successfully activated, the Demon clan's power within this magic circle will be blocked by half. So, this moment is a golden opportunity for the Heroes to defeat the Demon King. But remember, this magic can only last for one hour. If they fail to defeat Demon King within that time, our future is doomed!" Razor explained.
*****************
*So, I have only one hour to defeat this monster... Gulp! But Razor didn't mention that Dragon Heart could heal the person within it... Ah, never mind. Now I need to focus on this monster.* Raqnid thought to himself.
"Hehe, now it's fair!" Raqnid told Demon King.
"Huh? You! How can you—Ciss, Dragon Heart! You used that thing to block my power..."
"Exactly. Now, let's start round two!" Raqnid said.
Raqnid gripped both of his knives, ready to attack.
[Telepathy] [Skill] [A] - Allows the user to communicate with someone using their mind without speaking.
*Ray!*
"Huh? Whose voice is this?" Ray wondered, hearing a voice in his mind.
*Ray, prepare your strongest skill. I want you to finish Demon King. I'll ensure he won't be able to dodge or parry your attack. Just wait for my signal!*
Then the voice disappeared from his mind.
"So, that was someone's voice!" Ray looked towards Raqnid.
"Gerrgh.. COME TO MEE!!" Demon King shouted towards Raqnid.
SHOOSH!!
Raqnid dashed swiftly toward Demon King.
CLANNG!!
Raqnid's knives and Demon King's large sword met.
CLANKK!!
CLINGG!!
CINNG!!
Both of them exchanged attacks. Now, Demon King couldn't match Raqnid's speed, but his strength and endurance still surpassed Raqnid's.
They both had their own advantages. Raqnid with his speed and Demon King with his powerful attacks and endurance.
In Ray's eyes, all he saw were sparks of light as they clashed. The light emitted from the collision of their weapons.
*Ciss, even though half of his power is blocked... he's still hard to beat!* Raqnid thought.
*Damn it. If not for my power being blocked, I would have already cut him down. I just need to endure for an hour... After that, I will destroy him and the Hero!* Demon King thought.
Demon King couldn't touch Raqnid with his current speed, while Raqnid continuously attacked Demon King, but his strikes only caused minimal damage.
If this continued, one hour might pass by effortlessly.
*It's useless; I need to find another way to stop him from moving!* Raqnid started to think.
Raqnid used almost all the skills he had on Demon King, but they still weren't enough. If he had a weapon like the Heroes, he could deal more significant damage. All the Heroes had weapons specially crafted to fight Demons. That's why Raqnid relied on Ray to make the final attack. Additionally, Ray possessed skills that were highly effective in killing Demons.
"I need a stronger weapon! But how? Huh!!!" Raqnid got another idea.
SHOOSH!!
Raqnid swiftly dashed toward Demon King, aiming for his sword. Demon King, thinking that Raqnid was targeting him, was surprised when his hand was attacked.
[Disarm] [Skill] [S] - Disarms the opponent's weapon.
"GERGHH!!"
Demon King's sword was disarmed from his hand.
"Heh, a wise move! But what can you do? The hour is ending soon!" Demon King said.
Raqnid released one of his knives and reached for the Demon King's sword.
"Huh? What are you trying to do? Don't tell me you want to use my sword! I've told you that the sword is only for m—e!"
As Raqnid's hand touched Demon King's large sword, he quickly threw a knife at Demon King.
ZHOOSH!!
"Huh!"
CLANNG!!
Demon King managed to deflect it with his hand.
[Teleport Item]
KA-CHING!!
"No way—Huh!" Demon King was surprised to see Raqnid appear in front of him, swinging his sword, Zero.
"DIEE!!" Raqnid slashed Demon King.
WHOOSH!!
KA-BOOOM!!
Demon King barely managed to evade the attack.
"How can you use that sword!" Demon King exclaimed.
"As you said, this sword has no weight!" Raqnid replied.
"Huh! Yo-you have a Legendary title!" Demon King finally realized.
"Where were we?" Raqnid asked.
"Gerrghh!" Demon King was furious.
ZHOOSH!!
Raqnid threw the knife again at Demon King.
KA-CHING!!
"GARGGGHH!" Raqnid attacked once more.
BOOOMM!!
WHOOSH!! WHOOSH!! WHOOSH!!
*Impossible to avoid all of them!* Demon King thought.
Raqnid continued his assault as usual, but this time, his left hand was more dangerous. Because Zero-Blade had no weight, Raqnid could use it like a regular knife.
Demon King could only dodge; attempting to attack would result in more injuries.
Raqnid began to dominate the fight.
SHOOSH!!
Demon King tried to distance himself and started attacking using magic powers.
However, Raqnid easily closed the gap using the Teleport Item skill.
Only two minutes remained before Demon King regained his powers.
Demon King tried to move away as far as possible.
"Heh!" Raqnid grinned and threw his knife at Demon King.
ZHOOSH!!
Demon King quickly conjured a magic shield to block Raqnid.
At that moment, Demon King's heel kicked something behind him. With a quick glance, he saw Raqnid's knife left there when Raqnid picked up the Zero sword.
"Huh! GERGHH!! DAMN IT!!"
In an instant, Demon King tried to create a shield behind him, but it was too late.
KA-CHING!!
Raqnid teleported to the knife behind Demon King, leaving his back wide open without any shield.
THROUGHH!!
"Gorghhh!"
Demon King was stabbed from behind by Raqnid with the Zero sword.
*Useless, everything was planned! He tried to press me into his trap!*
[Telepathy]
*RAY NOW!!*
"All right! GARGGGHH!"
[Excalibur] [Skill] [SSS]
"Huh!" Demon King then saw a 10-meter-high sword about to strike him.
"GARGGGHH! I, VALKANON, KING OF THE DEMON REALM, WON'T BE DEFEATED BY HUMANS LIKE YOU!"
Demon King tried to free himself from the Zero sword's thrust to avoid Ray's attack.
"Gerghh, why is that attack so slow!" Raqnid held his sword to prevent the Demon King from escaping.
"GARGGGHH!!" Demon King used all his strength to break free from Raqnid.
"YOU WON'T ESCAPEE!! ARRGHH!!" Raqnid struggled to hold Demon King in place.
WHOOSHHH!!
Ray's attack struck Demon King.
[Teleport Item]
"ARGHHHH!!!" Demon King screamed in pain.
BOOOOMMM!!!
The 10-meter sword also destroyed the Demon King's palace.
People outside were shocked to witness the enormous destruction of the once-grand palace. The resulting explosion was massive.
"What just happened?" became a question in many minds.
"Ray!" Jilk, Zack, and Sofia, who were on their way to the palace, rushed to the scene.
Ray plunged his sword into the ground and leaned against it in exhaustion.
"Hurghh... Hurghh... Hurghh! Did I manage to kill him?" Ray looked towards the area where Demon King was attacked.
All he saw was widespread devastation, with no sign of Demon King.
Ting!
[Demon King Has Been Slain] [Notification]
[Last Hit On Demon King] [Achievement]
[One True Hero] [Title] [Epic]
Level Up! x194
After Ray saw the notifications displayed in front of him, he finally breathed a sigh of relief and collapsed to the ground.
"Hurghh... It's finally over!"
After lying down for a moment, Ray suddenly realized something and quickly got up.
Ray looked for the person who had helped him defeat Demon King, but all he found was ash and rubble.
**5 minutes earlier**
KA-CHING!
"Raqnid!"
Shara was startled when Raqnid suddenly appeared in front of her. Raqnid had used the teleport skill on his bow that Shara was holding.
Raqnid was severely injured due to being partially hit by Ray's attack.
Shara caught Raqnid before he could fall to the ground. Raqnid looked weak and powerless.
"Raqnid, are you okay?" Shara asked.
"SHARA!!!" Wells shouted from a distance.
Shara waved to Wells.
"Shara, are you okay—Raqnid! What happened to Raqnid?" Wells asked.
"I don't know, it just—!"
BOOOOMMM!!!
"Huh?" Shara and Wells looked towards the explosion.
Demon King's palace crumbled and collapsed.
"Raqnid, what are you doing there?" Shara wondered.
Wells saw the severely injured Raqnid.
"We need to take him back to the camp!" Wells said.
"Alright, Grandpa!"
Wells carried Raqnid on his back and ran back to the camp for treatment.
########
Everyone wondered what happened at Demon King's palace, whether the Heroes had defeated Demon King or vice versa.
Jilk, Zack, and Sofia approached the palace.
"Someone is approaching!" Sofia sensed someone's presence.
A feeling of fear began to overwhelm them as they felt how painful and difficult it would be to defeat Demon Lord Dolce. Imagine if they had to fight with the Demon King Valkanon, the king of the Demon Lord they had just defeated. The thought of it terrified them.
Not only them, but the entire battlefield anxiously awaited the outcome.
Tap.. Tap.. Tap..
"Ray!" They saw Ray appearing in front of them, exhausted.
Yet, they were still unsure of the outcome.
Ray raised his sword into the air, indicating his victory over Demon King.
"YARRGHH!!!" Ray shouted.
"Huh?" The three of them were left stunned.
Jilk, still in disbelief, raised his spear.
"YARRGHH!!"
Then, Zack and Sofia joined in, and the news of their victory echoed throughout Mardi.
"YARRGHH!!!"
"WE WON!!!"
"YARRGHH!!!"
"YAHOOO!!!"
The war ended with the defeat of the Demon forces. The remaining Demon soldiers were either killed or managed to escape. The battle, which determined the fate of the Unity faction for the next 1000 years, had come to an end.
Many sacrificed their lives in this war, including Razor and Rose.
Ray, who had just exited the Demon King's palace, was deeply moved upon hearing the news of Rose's death. It wasn't just him; all his fellow comrades felt the same sorrow.
The sacrifices, including Razor's, were acknowledged as the Stingray group shared the details of Razor's sacrifices.
In the end, it is a harsh reality that everyone who lives will eventually face death.