Rithrath, the Demon Lord, stood in the midst of the chaos, his eyes blazing with fury. The ambush had left his convoy in ruins. He surveyed the scene-his carriages lay shattered, many of his demons dead, while others writhed in pain, wounded. Nearly all the carriages were destroyed, and the sight of it stoked his rage further.
But what angered him the most? The two figures standing before him now, unmistakably the ones responsible for his son’s death. His eyes narrowed as he recognized the beasts they rode —those same fire steeds he had once gifted to his son.
They’ve come willingly! His lips curled into a cruel smile. Good. Because I will not let them die easily.
He could already picture it-the endless suffering he would inflict upon them. Torture, pain, imprisonment. They would wish for death long before he was through with them. Yes, he had planned every cruel punishment he could imagine, and now, he would make sure they endured them all.
All of Rithrath’s surviving demons quickly rose, ready to attack. Two enemies stood before them, both wearing Infernak’s helmets. his eyes gleamed with greed; these foes seemed to possess valuable items, and capturing them could lead to quite the haul.
“Yo… I appreciate your bravery, coming straight to me,” Rithrath said. “You think death is your fate? No. You’ll beg for it before I’m done.”
The male attacker said. “Tell me, are you related to that pathetic demon young master I killed a few days ago?”
Rithrath’s eyes flared with rage. “Yes, I’m his father… And this is good news, because now I can capture you, torture you, and destroy everyone connected to you.”
The attacker remained calm. “Then, I hope you’ve got something valuable on you. Would be a waste if I took the time to deal with you for nothing.”
“You sure talk big for someone who’s about to suffer a lot,” Rithrath snarled.
Rithrath took out his proudest weapon-a Legendary-grade greatsword passed down through his family for generations. Its blade shimmered with shadow energy, exuding raw power.
“Capture them both,” he commanded.
As he gave the order, the female attacker darted off in another direction. “Catch that one!” Rithrath barked at his guards, but his eyes were locked on the male attacker.
This one, he thought, the arrogant one—I’ll teach him the meaning of pain.
The male attacker charged forward, riding the fire-beast, flames trailing in his wake. He wielded a blue spear, a seemingly ridiculous weapon to Rithrath. A spear? How foolish, he thought, gripping his greatsword tightly.
The attacker struck first, thrusting his spear with force. Rithrath swung his greatsword to meet the blow. The clash was explosive, sending shockwaves through the battlefield and forcing Rithrath back several meters. His teeth gritted in frustration, but he wasn’t finished. Just as he prepared to leap forward, enormous vines erupted from the ground, wrapping around him, binding his movements. The male attacker moved with unreal speed, his figure a blur as he closed in. What kind of speed is this?!
Rithrath vanished, enveloped in shadow energy, reappearing moments later far from the vines. He launched himself forward, and once again, their weapons collided-a greatsword clashing violently against the spear in a fierce struggle. The air crackled with the force of their blows, the ground trembling beneath them.
The battle seemed almost laughably easy to Rithrath. The attacks from this fool were not particularly strong, but he had an annoying arsenal of skills that complicated things. The water domain he used-what was this idiot thinking? It barely slowed Rithrath’s movements, hardly tapping into its full potential. This attacker is so stupid.
Switching between a sword and a spear? What a foolish move! Rithrath seethed. Is he too dumb to commit to one weapon?
The attacker’s clumsy movements made Rithrath even more enraged. He wasn’t wielding either weapon to their full strength, wasting the potential of both the spear and the sword.
Rithrath smirked. I’ll teach this fool a lesson on how real warriors fight.
Then, the attacker spread fiery wings from his back-wings that instantly struck a nerve deep within Rithrath. Those wings! They were from the chest armor he had given to his son. The sight of it set his blood boiling.
“You’re using my son’s power?!” Rithrath roared.
He was done playing. This bastard had mocked his family, and now he would pay the price. “You asshole, I’ll take that chest armor from you myself!”
With blinding speed, Rithrath lunged forward, swinging his Legendary Greatsword-infused with his advanced Shadow Element. He was the greatest swordsman, the leader of his clan, and he had never been defeated. This battle would end quickly, or so he thought.
The fight raged on, fierce and intense, for several minutes. Rithrath unleashed a flurry of devastating blows, confident in his power. But then, something unexpected happened. In a flash of steel, his left arm was severed.
“You ungrateful bastard!” he screamed, his rage fueling him as he charged forward once
more.
They continued exchanging blows, but this time, Rithrath wasn’t as powerful as before. He had already killed the attacker once, but the revival-likely due to his opponent’s item-had only fueled his rage.
“I know you can’t survive over and over again,” Rithrath snarled. “Show me how many lives you really have!”
Surrounded by the attacker’s summons, Rithrath scoffed, swinging his greatsword fiercely despite being outnumbered.
“You think these pathetic summons can defeat me?!” he bellowed.
Despite his rage, the tide was turning. Rithrath’s movements were getting more desperate, and as he charged forward for what would be his final strike, his opponent moved with impossible speed. In an instant, the battle came to an end-Rithrath’s head was severed clean from his body.
“How?” he gasped, disbelief filling his final moments. “I am the greatest greatsword fighter in the world!”
“I guess you didn’t get out much, bro,” the attacker quipped with a smirk.
As the words left his mouth, Rithrath’s body shattered into pixels and vanished from the battlefield, leaving nothing but silence where his fury had once reigned.
“Damn!” Broken muttered in frustration after finally killing the demon. “That demon was a
real pain!”
He had come dangerously close to death. His Ethereal Form had saved him at the last moment, though he had died once, relying on his revive skill to grant him a second chance. Despite his initial reluctance, he eventually summoned Gaia and was forced to gang up on the
demon from multiple angles.
But in the end, he won.
Broken whistled, taking a deep breath as he surveyed the battlefield. The fight was finally over. He looked up and saw Ivana running toward him, her helmet off and a bright, excited
smile on her face.
“Hi, having fun?”
“Surprisingly, yes!” she replied.
Does Ivana really enjoy fighting? He thought to himself. It was still odd to hear such enthusiasm
from her-he wasn’t used to it.
“Did you run into any problems earlier, Ivana?” he asked.
“Yes, but Charmelyn showed up and helped.”
“Charmelyn? I didn’t see her.”
Ivana giggled. “She only appeared briefly, taking out demons and bringing them to their
deaths. Then, she disappeared again without showing herself.”
Broken smiled. “So I guess she didn’t really leave us to handle this battle alone after all.”
He scanned the area, spotting various items scattered across the ground. But the real prize was, of course, the items dropped by the demon lord. That’s the real highlight, he thought,
eager to inspect his new loot.
The first item was: [Emberclaw Gauntlets (Unique)]
Yes, it was a pair of gloves with a sleek design of black metal, cracked with glowing embers and radiating a fiery aura. The sharp, claw-like fingertips resembled crystallized magma. And yes, it was part of the Infernak armor set that Broken already owned. Now, with the helmet, chest armor, and gloves, he had three pieces. All that remained were the pants and shoes.
But can I still find the rest? He wondered.
The next item was the greatsword the demon had wielded in their battle. It was undeniably a
cool weapon.
“A greatsword, huh?” Broken mused, approaching it. “Let’s see how impressive this sword the ‘responsible father’ bragged about really is.”
He picked up the massive greatsword, shadow energy swirling around it like flames licking at
the blade.
“This is definitely a cool weapon. A shadow element, huh?” he remarked, inspecting it
closely.
[Abyssbreaker Greatsword (Legendary)]
A weapon of pure power, fitting for a demon lord, now in his hands.