Torture the hero, why has the Demon King's castle collapsed again?

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"What a rip-off!!!" Dane's eyes widened in fury.

Him? An ordinary warrior who neither received the blessing of a hero nor had a contract with the Holy Relic of the Holy Church, fighting the Ninth Demon Official of the Demon King's Castle, a zombie maid of the Great Demon level? —Really?!

"Come back! Knights! Don't joke around... How can I live without your knightly formation, Knights!!!"

His desperate shouts seemed unable to reach the other side of the wall; the surrounding air became deathly still, and Dane's expression visibly panicked.

boom--!

Behind me, a terrifying and oppressive aura emanated.

A chill ran down Dane's spine. With his back to the city wall, he stared wide-eyed at the zombie maid approaching step by step, and couldn't help but scream in panic, "—Don't come any closer!!!"

Weak, pitiful, and helpless.

Dane immediately wanted to run away, but where could he run? Even if he escaped into the city walls, this great demon could still chase after him and kill him.

A faint scent of blood emanated from the Bloodstone on his chest. Covering his chest, Dane knew this was his greatest reliance.

"Damn it, I'll risk it all!" Driven by desperation, Dane knew he had no way out. In an instant, he activated the Bloodstone in his chest: "Bloodstone, full power! Give me strength—!!!"

Endless blood energy filled his limbs and lungs, and Dane's eyes turned bloodshot. The injury he had just suffered from Fim's punch healed at an incredible speed.

The Bloodstone that Thanaus created with some unknown power could only sustain the consumption of about one battle when fully activated.

But in return, he gained power approaching that of a hero!

A weak hero, like a "vegetarian hero" whose combat strength is measured by its mere size, is equivalent to the weakest great demon. A powerful hero, like a Minotaur of extraordinary ability, is capable of severely injuring nine demons single-handedly!

During that time in the Dragon Hidden Mountains, Dane already knew the power limit of this Blood Essence Stone, which could fight on equal terms with two Great Demon-level combatants.

Then, the problem is easily solved!

A surge of power coursed through his body once more. Dane gazed at the lone blue-haired demon before him, a slight smile playing on his lips: "Today, you will no longer be my match."

There's only one devil, so he's not going to pretend anymore!

He had intended to maintain a low profile and associate with the paladins, but now he was determined to single-handedly slay a demon! He would show them that he was the true hero worthy of the title of champion!

"If it were a demon with a higher seat, then the only option would be to run away. But fortunately, the opponent is the weakest Ninth Demon... Without the aid of that rebellious holy artifact, the advantage is in my hands!"

Dane's smile gradually widened, and he decided to stop wasting words and ruthlessly chopped off the head of the demon in front of him!

However, something is strange.

The demon in front of them suddenly stopped moving. A blue ahoge on her head stood up like a pointer, as if she had received some message. The huge bow on her back swayed slightly.

"Received. The plan has changed."

"No need, delay, go all out... Fim, I understand."

The expressionless maid nodded repeatedly into the air, then turned to look at Dane, her empty eyes sending chills down one's spine.

"Hmph, putting on airs? Don't try to stall for time, you devil!" Dane's heart skipped a beat, but he straightened his chest and uttered harsh words.

"With my next sword strike, I will take your demonic life!"

"Hmm." Fim nodded very seriously, his blue ahoge standing up as usual, trembling as if it were about to jump up.

"Quick battle, quick resolution."

“Fim, use that move too.”

one move?

A sense of unease and doubt arose in Dane's heart. In the battle just now, this zombie demon had been fighting brutally with its fists and bare hands. According to the intelligence passed by Erwin during the battle, this was also the zombie demon's main method of attack.

After all, the zombie demon race, while characterized by its powerful physique, suffers from a lack of intelligence and ruptured limb meridians.

Unless the irreversible wounds inherent to their race can be removed, and combat knowledge can be instilled in them in some special way, it is impossible for zombie demons to use the exquisite combat skills of humans.

Otherwise, with that terrifying physical strength, combined with powerful sword techniques that amplify combat power, their strength would leap exponentially.

Therefore, since the start of the battle, Dane only breathed a sigh of relief when he saw that the blue-haired female demon in front of him had not used the sword technique from the Dragon Hidden Mountains again, taking it as an inherent ability of the demon sword Apophis.

A sense of tension seemed to surround me, but my keen senses, granted by my blood energy, failed to detect the presence of any other magical power, so there was nothing to fear!

Dane calmed his unease and smiled again.

Then, he saw the blue-haired maid slowly draw from her waist... a simple, unadorned iron sword.

Chapter 287 The Sword Rises! — The Saint's Resurrection, the Fusion of Chaos!!!

"You're... joking, right?"

Dane's expression suddenly dried up.

The Bloodstone granted him five senses that were now comparable to those of a zombie demon with authority. He could sense that what Fim had taken out was just the most ordinary, crudely made iron sword, which was worlds apart from the fine steel longsword in his hand, crafted with the exquisite techniques of the dwarves.

But none of that mattered. Dane's pupils trembled, for the zombie demon before him held a sword—a sword created by humankind.

The moment he grasped it, the blue-haired demon's aura changed abruptly. He no longer resembled a dull and sluggish zombie demon, but rather a battle-hardened... human hero.

He recalled once again the sword strike on the Dragon Hidden Mountains, a strike that was almost powerful enough to slay a dragon.

"No, this can't be!" Dane's pupils widened in shock. "It's fake! It's all fake!"

The psychological shadows stemming from past memories were amplified infinitely at this moment, and Dane's emotions nearly spiraled out of control:

"If Shana can become a hero of light and justice, if a demon can be a hero with legendary swordsmanship, then what about me? Am I even human?! Why did I have to go through all this?!"

"Whether it's the hero Shana or the demon Fim, they're all just stepping stones in front of me, Dane Brando!" Dane roared emotionally.

"No one can stop me!!!"

A violent surge of blood energy suddenly emanated from every pore of Dane's body! His expression gradually turned ferocious, and the longsword in his hand unleashed a crimson wave of blood, like a mountain of corpses and a sea of ​​blood!

Opposite him, Fim, who had been listening quietly, also raised his longsword without expression.

After she finished speaking... she was about to start ex-curry sticks.

A corner of light appeared on the horizon, and a sea of ​​light emerged on the ground.

An unprecedented aura of light soared upwards, as if connecting with the will of the goddess above the dome, and the brilliant sky gradually came to life... It was as if one could sense a familiar aura, or as if one were to reunite with the world after the moment of their fall in ancient times.

This is the most basic yet uniquely pure power that Fim exerted with all her might.

At this moment, without the confusion of power from the Dragon Hidden Mountains that day, without the interference of the holy power of the Holy Sword, a clear and pure aura rose straight to the sky in a corner of the royal capital! It was like a hero's triumphant return, a saint's resurrection.

Inside the Holy Church, the fleeting image of rabbit ears above Kalia's head vanished; inside the Magician's Round Tower, Shana felt a certain "seal" within her body dissipate.

The capital of Kuer, south gate.

—In a fleeting moment, the "goddess" cast her gaze upon him once more.

“Are you…are you kidding me…”

The murderous aura that Dane had been exuding seemed to be completely blown away by that incomparably bright and pure aura, and his gaze became completely blank.

Since briefly containing the Hero's Mark within his body, he had developed a clearer perception of it than anyone else. At this moment, he distinctly felt that the Hero's Mark, symbolizing the goddess's gaze and the hero's status, no longer resided within the round tower in the eastern district of the royal capital, but rather...

in front of you.

Blue hair danced freely in the wind of light. The girl in the classic maid outfit raised her petite head. Her once empty gray-green eyes were now like smooth mirrors, no longer containing a trace of death, reflecting everything in the world.

"Ex——"

Dane's hair stood on end. The next moment, the crimson sword energy he had gathered on his sword suddenly dissipated, transforming into a dense blood shield that fiercely protected him! An instinctive premonition told him: he absolutely could not win this sword strike!

That was a sword strike imbued with an unwavering belief in victory, invincible and unbeatable, like an ancient resurrection, now displaying its sharpest and purest edge once more.

That is……

Dane's eyes trembled. Without further hesitation, he crushed the Bloodstone in his arms, a stone possessing power comparable to that of a "hero." The overwhelming blood energy appeared insignificant under that gentle light. The next moment, a gentle yet terrifying light silently descended—

"Curry, great."

boom--! ! !

The next moment, a dazzling wave of light surged into the sky from the south side of the capital! It formed an almost endless storm of light, trembling throughout the entire world and radiating a brilliant heroic glory!

Inside the royal capital, Erwin, who was speeding along, stopped and suddenly turned around to look at the bright light behind him.

"That's...Ex-Curry Stick?!" Erwin's face lit up with joy: "Lord Dane really didn't hold back anymore, he went all out!"

"Good, very good!!!"

Irwin felt relieved and said excitedly, "I presume that Lord Dane is now at ease, having dealt with that demon with a single sword strike—"

With no more worries in his mind, Erwin perked up and was about to continue on his way.

Om-! ! !

From yet another direction, a wave of soul-piercing pain suddenly swept in, causing the holy power within the body to become chaotic, and the surrounding paladins to be thrown into disarray. It took a long time for them to regain their footing.

"What happened?" Erwin's expression changed, and he instinctively looked in one direction, his face filled with horror: "What happened there?!"

That's the direction of the capital's north gate.

The pure white chill had already frozen the sky into ice and frost.

……

North city gate.

The terrifying, solid mental attack fell like a storm upon the ice shield shrouded in dense cold air.

The saintess's pure and holy robes blended into the hazy icy mist, the chill on the cross-shaped longsword was slightly faint, and the icy heart on her chest flickered with frequent and rapid light.

"Holy Maiden, has this great demon gone mad? Every attack he launches now is several times more terrifying than before! Even the Horned Demon race shouldn't squander their spiritual power like this!"

"Ignore it." Lena's icy blue eyes remained unmoved, her gaze piercing through the icy mist and precisely locking onto the demon girl whose power was surging not far away.

"Soon, she will be the one who can't hold on."

Standing amidst the frost, Lena remained calm and clear-headed. She knew that at the current pace, the great demon before her would only suffer the fate of exhausting its mental energy.

The opponent is the third-ranked Demon Official in the Demon King's Castle, a terrifying horned demon whose strength and potential are beyond doubt. As the Ice Saintess, it is indeed difficult for her to seriously injure the opponent, but conversely, the opponent has absolutely no chance of defeating her, who is protected by the Ice Heart.

Even now, with the opponent's attack intensity reaching a level that even Iceheart is finding difficult to withstand, Lena's judgment remains unwavering.

Because the one who controls the pure heart is oneself.

Her spirit and condition allow Iceheart to remain in an incredibly stable state, and even fully unleash its potential, granting it enough power to withstand the Demon King's attacks for a short period of time.

Sure enough... Lena unconsciously tightened her grip on the longsword in her hand.