'What the heck?'
He repeatedly asked the question internally, but even if he asked it out loud, he was certain that nobody could answer.
"T-that ---"
He wasn't the only one who saw what happened. The team leader was also trembling as he witnessed their last remaining hope trampled on the ground.
In the end, everything was in vain.
They were aware that, from the start, death was inevitable for them. They, as mere cannon fodder, do not have the luxury of thinking that there exists a possibility that they'll come out alive right after their desperate conquest.
But the last scene they saw was a shocking surprise for them.
"Hah---hahahaha!"
It was so surprising that the team leader lost it and could only let out a hollow laugh.
The captain wasn't alone, as the other creatures great and small surrounding them, starting from where the Demon King was, were also laughing and cheering, but in celebration.
Lohiya has fallen.
Forget building a foundation; their ashes will just be uselessly tread upon by the Otherworlders who attained the true victory in the battle.
Meanwhile, he was left staring at the body of the Saint of Lohiya that had perished, his chest tight for reasons unknown, and his thoughts complicated.
'Best of luck.'
He must have mistaken it, but he was internally questioning why it seemed the Saint had just passed the ball to him.
'No. There's no way.'
The salvation of the world didn't concern him; what's more, he was not in a condition to even survive.
However, it remains bothersome that the gamble that led the remaining thousands of fighting Lohiyans to fulfill the plans of the significant figures ended up in a slaughter.
Included in the list were people he was connected to one way or another, and the thought made him boil in anger inside.
"H-heh ---"
But like his team leader, in the face of helplessness, only laughter escaped his mouth.
"Heh, damn it all."
"Right? Hah, I'm suddenly craving for some cigarettes."
However, it was said that misfortunes never come singly.
Just when they are still recovering from the inconvenient truth of the remaining hope of humans falling to the depths of the Abyss, another misfortune stares them right in the face in the form of a half-demon named Kerioth.
With that very short period of inattention, the half-demon has regained his consciousness. Though still unmoving, Kerioth was glaring at him with his red eyes very much alive.
"Urgh --!"
"Hey, kid!"
Whether it was because his accumulated injuries are finally kicking up his senses or because Kerioth is sending him killing intent at an extreme level, he suddenly felt all the pain pouring down on him all at once.
It was like the filter blocking his nerves was taken off.
"Grahhh --!"
"Hey, what the hell's wrong with you?!"
'Damn it, is this a skill?!'
He would have rolled towards the Abyss if not for the team leader supporting him.
He glared at Kerioth with his eyes blurred with tears, and though his body was uncontrollably shaking, he raised his hand and aimed the weapon at the enemy.
Before he could pull the trigger, he wasn't able to stop himself from vomiting a bad amount of blood.
"Heuk ---"
"Kid! Ar --!"
"S-shoot him, s-sir!"
"Damn it!"
Click. Boom!
The impact loudly resounded in the area where the previous cheering had dwindled.
Click. Boom!
They gained the attention of all the creatures, who seemed to be anticipating another set of entertainment now that the strongest group was finally defeated.
Click.
BOOM!
The bullet exploded louder as Kerioth, who recovered faster than expected, faced it head-on with his arm covered with his concentrated energy.
"Keuk ---!"
"Sir --!"
Kerioth impatiently flew so swiftly to them that his eyes didn't catch on; a powerful kick missed the team leader by a hairbreadth; it would have one-shot him if he had activated his own ability a microsecond too late.
The team leader has the ability to crystallize his body, making him less susceptible to mana or physical attacks. By thrusting one of his feet on the ground, the team leader was able to keep himself from being blown away.
Kerioth and the team leader began to engage in close combat.
One more time, he activated his ability to see Kerioth's flaw at the moment, but what he only achieved was more disappointment and a shooting pain in both eyes. Kerioth, who seemed to have learned his lesson, was allocating a greater amount of his mana to protect his weak points.
With that, the green spots seen by his ability on Kerioth's body are not as pronounced as they were before.
But there was still a way out.
"Urk --!"
"Out of the way, old man."
The team leader responded with physical attacks.
The sound of Kerioth's abdomen being pounded by the team leader's knuckle was heard like a solid rock crashing on a block of ice. However, the solid rock that was enhanced by demonic malice prevailed, pushing the captain to take a step backward after his third attempt.
Kerioth didn't miss the chance and went for the team leader's throat, cutting and forming a blood trail with the sharp tips of his fingernails.
Albeit being an old man, the team leader maneuvered by bending back and lowering himself. When he saw a gap after Kerioth missed another attempt at driving a hole in his head, the team leader counterattacked by exploiting Kerioth's unstable foothold.
However, the demon remains unfazed, though not to the extent of treating the series of attacks against him as child's play, unlike he did with his old friend Argus.
Although he wasn't showing it, the damage to Kerioth's core was not fully healed. His insides were so completely wrecked that it might take him months of hibernation just to gradually fix his center, perhaps with some help back at the demon's main facilities.
That was why he was enraged, as doing so would reduce his anticipated play time.
Kerioth felt infuriated, but it made him want to shred his dear, old friend to pieces even more, very slowly, with his own hands.
"Kid!"
Sensing Kerioth's intention to go past the team leader to snatch him, he aimed the gun.
"Heh."
Despite his impending doom, he looks at the two people who sprang to him with different intentions, leaving them with a wide grin as he pulls the trigger; the bullet need not hit anything.
Bang!
He was jerked backward towards the great emptiness.
"No!"
"This idiot --!"
The two, with opposite intentions, struggled to catch him before he fell, but it was too late. The wind surged upward, but he continued to descend; he was about to close his eyes, but not until ---
"Heuk--!"
His body ceased from falling, and he sprung up and down, back and forth, till he completely stopped in midair. Unfortunately, it was followed by excruciating pain that halted his breathing for a short while.
At the edge of the Abyss was the team leader, his two crystallized arms digging deep into the ground to keep himself from being pulled by the young man's weight. He was on his knees with his defenseless back open for Kerioth.
Looking at his sides with his eyes blurred with tears, he saw the ropes tying him to the body of his uselessly affectionate team leader.
"Damn it! Seriously, sir?!"
The team leader, who already anticipated his actions and what was about to happen afterwards, only grunted as a reply.
"Puhahahahaha! Ahh, what a great display of devotion!"
"I-is it? Must be sad not experiencing it once in your lifetime, demon."
"Oh, you two are somewhat similar; you'd be mistaken as father and son."
"Quite unfortunate, really."
"Then I guess I'll have to thank you,"
The team leader stared blankly at the young man, one of the cheekiest soldiers in his unit. And one of his military children.
On the other hand, the young man only nodded his head, his insides boiling from the fact he wasn't allowed to fall in peace.
"Because of you, I'll get to see Argus' amusing face."
With one swift movement, Kerioth decapitated the team leader. He immediately grabbed the neck that was still spurting with blood to keep hold of his link to his old friend.
'Damn. I didn't want to see this.'
He bit the soft insides of his mouth to keep himself from expressing what he truly felt at the moment. The last thing he wanted was to entertain the bastard demon. He only glared at the demon holding the headless body, despite the team leader's head passing through his side.
But it was something he was prepared for. In fact, it was something that he hadn't experienced for the first time. He was particularly trained in the aspect of seeing people he interacted with at least once be blown apart in front of him.
His unperturbed face yielded a somewhat disappointed face from Kerioth.
"Argus, how cold-blooded."
He should have killed the old guy slowly.
Kerioth's regret was short-lived. After a while, he just shrugged it off as something trivial. Noticing the change around him, he decided to proceed with his purpose, namely, taking the body of his dear friend with him.
"Alright, let's have a serious talk about your attitude once we've ---"
Bang! Bang!
"Ar ---!"
The precious handgun of his team leader successfully cut both Kerioth's nonsense talks and the rope that was keeping him from his chosen death.
He hated the idea of having Kerioth's face be the last memory, so he flailed himself to face downward. He closed his eyes and focused on the cold and loud wind that was dangerously sweeping his face, avoiding hearing the voice of the enemy, who kept calling out to him like an obsessed boyfriend.
However, though he perceived that he had not fallen that far, he was forced to open his eyes when he sensed a sudden change.
The loud wind has lightened and turned into a breeze; the cold has been replaced by warmth.
When he opened his eyes, he saw a tiny dot of light from a distance. He blinked multiple times, thinking it was just his imagination, but instead, the tiny dot of light was getting bigger.
It was more accurate to say that the light was eating up the darkness of the Abyss.
Only a short moment passed, yet he was forced to close his eyes because of the bright light that swiftly engulfed the space.
'What the ---'
The bright and warm light completely covered him, and he continued to fall until ---
Splat --!
"Ow!"
He fell flat on the floor, which was marble-like in texture.
Above all the peculiar occurrences, he wasn't hurt at all. In fact, the pain from his injuries was all gone.
"What the freaking f*ck is happening?"
All that surrounds him is total whiteness that hurts the eyes.
Bewildered by the unexpected event, he didn't notice the existence that was staring at him.
"Ahem, ahem."
Turning to the existence with a stupid face, his eyes widened into saucers when he recognized the familiar face.
A small face and good-looking facial features, with delicate and twinkling golden orbs, framed the silky white hair, which flowed just below the waist. There might be significant changes with the colors, and perhaps the guy in front of him looks a little bit older, but he was wearing the same wide smile he saw just a couple of hours earlier.
No, it was the same smile he saw before being beheaded by the King of the Demons a short while ago.
"How ---"
'How are you still alive?'
"Welcome to the firmament between Renaris and Lohiya!"
His words were cut short by the unexpected but lively greeting of the white-haired Saint of Lohiya.