Chapter 1171: The Demon: Deaths everywhere
Chapter 1171: The Demon: Deaths everywhere
At that moment, Souta turned his head, and the air itself trembled under his mere presence. He had already activated more than twenty forbidden spells and sublimated combat arts. Combined with his artifacts and blessings, his power had far surpassed its natural limits.
This overwhelming strength was the culmination of his entire journey — the sum of his character’s growth in the game.
"This isn’t everything I have... I still have more," Souta muttered.
He bent his knees and launched himself toward the ten remaining demons.
The demons gritted their teeth and met his charge head-on.
Boom!!
The impact of their clash sent Souta and the ten demons hurtling hundreds of meters apart. Without hesitation, Souta moved again — faster than before. He couldn’t afford to give these demons even a moment to recover.
With a single step, a magic circle bloomed beneath his feet.
[Purgatory Night Sky]!!
In less than a second, thousands of dark spikes materialized in midair — one of the deadly forbidden spells he had personally developed.
He took another step, and another magic circle appeared.
[Ultimate Dark Hunting]!!
Space itself warped as darkness spilled from the rifts, devouring everything it touched.
Souta didn’t hold back. Each forbidden spell drained a massive amount of energy, but with a single use of his equipment’s recovery skill, his energy instantly replenished.
The sky was filled with countless dark spikes as they rained down upon the demons. The ten Freedom Realm demons scrambled to defend themselves, but their defenses shattered within seconds.
Swoosh!!
Souta appeared above them, a scythe in his left hand and a sword in his right.
[Desperado Night Watch]!!
The power of his blessings surged as he unleashed a devastating strike upon the ten demons.
Boom!!
The shockwave unleashed by the Blood Lightning Monster was staggering. The ten Freedom Realm demons felt it deep in their bones — a primal warning of death itself. Every clash with him made their instincts scream.
"Who are you?!!"
Their roars were laced with fear, but Souta didn’t bother answering. Instead, he responded with another forbidden spell.
A series of dark flashes erupted before their eyes, tearing through the air like ruptured space. Flesh split and armor cracked — bodies that had endured countless wars were now riddled with deep, bleeding wounds.
’I wanted to save this for when I face a God-rank being, for a chance to escape... but there’s no other choice,’ Souta thought grimly as he lunged forward.
The scythe in his hand carved through the demons’ defenses as if they were nothing. The air vibrated with raw, violent power — the force of his strike cleaving the forest, mountains, and horizon clean in half.
In that moment, one of the ten Freedom Realm demons was erased from existence. His body burst apart, disintegrating into ash as his fading energy scattered into the trembling sky.
The expressions of the remaining Freedom Realm demons turned grim.
Boom!!
Across the lands surrounding the Involin Forest, countless experts fled in panic. The sheer pressure radiating from the battle struck terror into their hearts. Even the local tyrants — beings who ruled their territories with absolute might — felt powerless before the overwhelming force that clashed in the distance.
They could only pray that the battle wouldn’t reach their lands and turn everything to dust.
From afar, all they could see was a storm of darkness and violent flashes of elemental light tearing through the horizon. Yet even from that distance, the aftershocks of the clash shook the ground beneath their feet.
"What in the world is happening out there?!"
Their voices trembled. The entire region felt as though it were on the brink of collapse.
Then, after several relentless minutes, the sky began to calm. The tremors faded, and the raging energies slowly dissipated. Silence reclaimed the land.
Someone had won.
Hidden experts — those who had reached the Shackled Realm — watched the darkened heavens with wary eyes.
"There’s no doubt about it... that battle belonged to high-level Hero-rank beings," muttered an expert of the Second Shackle Realm.
He had witnessed Hero-rank battles before, but none that shook the world like this. This one... this belonged to the very top of that realm — the kind of power that could erase nations.
...
Involin Forest.
The once-lush landscape was utterly unrecognizable. Every tree within a hundred kilometers had been uprooted; the ground was torn apart, cratered and twisted by immense force. Sparks of violent energy still crackled through the air, leaking from unstable spatial rifts.
No one would ever believe that this wasteland had once been a thriving green forest.
Only destruction remained.
High above the ruins, Souta hovered in the air, his weapons floating in a slow orbit around him. Below, silence reigned. The ten Freedom Realm demons he had fought were gone — erased completely.
He had killed them all.
The entire demon army that dared to intercept him had been obliterated.
Saya hadn’t said a word. She had been with him for so long, seen him fight countless battles — yet this felt different.
’How...?’ she thought numbly. ’How could a mere fourth-stage monster slay multiple Freedom Realm experts?’
Souta slowly turned his head. His eyes gleamed with a cold, eerie light. With a single wave of his hand, the lingering souls of the demons were drawn toward him, vanishing into his grasp.
Ohm!!
Power surged through him as he bathed in the aftermath of his own carnage. Then, without a sound, Souta vanished — leaving behind only the echo of devastation.
Swoosh!!
Hundreds of kilometers away—
Souta appeared in the sky, his gaze sweeping over the scarred landscape below.
There’s a battle here, Saya finally spoke, her voice quiet and tense.
Souta’s perception expanded, scanning every inch of the terrain. His expression darkened as the picture became clear.
Descending swiftly, he landed before a massive figure sprawled across the ground — a Nine-Headed Hydra, lying in a vast pool of blood.
It was Kessa.
Her breathing was shallow, her eyes barely open. When she saw him, a faint spark of recognition flickered in her gaze.
"M-Master..." she whispered weakly.
Souta extended his hand. "Come here."
A bright light flared as Kessa’s enormous body dissolved, shrinking into a small snake that slithered up and coiled gently around his arm.
"What happened?" Souta asked, his voice low and cold.
"Demons," Kessa managed to say.
That single word was enough. Souta already understood.
They had been intercepted again.
Even now, he could feel the lingering pressure in the air — an oppressive weight that only Freedom Realm beings could produce. The battle was over, but its traces still clung to the earth like a scar.
It made sense that Kessa had been defeated.
Multiple Freedom Realm demons... all mobilized at once. Just what was the Great Demon Emperor after? Alice?
"What happened to Vashno and the others?" Souta asked.
"We got separated," Kessa replied weakly. "Alice... she went with the demon to spare our lives."
Souta fell silent. He took a deep breath, then glanced at his system interface. The overwhelming energy within him was already beginning to fade. He couldn’t sustain this form much longer.
If his strength were any lower, he knew he wouldn’t have been able to maintain the [Blood Card] for even a single minute.
For now, he had to locate the demon who took Alice.
Souta raised his hand, and a magic circle formed in the air. His energy surged once more as a wisp of dark flame materialized before him. He captured the lingering energy of the demon in the air as a medium.
[Sanctus Karma]!!
Another forbidden spell.
Lines appeared in his vision.
This spell was designed to track beings of the Freedom Realm. It wasn’t difficult — he doubted the demon had any anti-tracking measures prepared. Besides, this particular spell was made specifically for pursuing targets. The demons are arrogant thinking that they didn’t need anti-tracking. Moreover, without the lingering energy of the demon, he wouldn’t be able to track them.
He hadn’t used it on Alice because he knew there was a high chance it wouldn’t work. Even Lucifer couldn’t track her unless she revealed her true form. Souta suspected her mother had arranged that safeguard before leaving the Demon’s Land.
Swoosh!!
Souta tore through the air at his maximum speed.
...
In a distant land.
Demons moved restlessly through an enormous domain filled with magnificent structures carved into the dark stone.
Alice arrived, her expression blank. Beside her walked a tall female demon radiating the oppressive aura of a Freedom Realm expert.
"Princess Alicia, you will meet His Majesty soon," the female demon said.
Alice nodded silently, her eyes unfocused.
As they strode forward, the surrounding demons bowed deeply. Alice followed behind, her mind clouded with fragments of what had just happened.
When Souta had blocked the demons’ path, chaos broke out. They scattered, fleeing in every direction—but none of them expected another Freedom Realm demon to appear. Kessa had fought bravely, yet she was defeated in an instant.
At that moment, Alice had no choice but to surrender. The Freedom Realm demon accepted her plea and refrained from killing anyone.
Alice couldn’t help but glance at the tall female demon walking ahead of her.
A Freedom Realm expert.
Her name was Leimin Armenis—and beyond that, Alice knew nothing about her.