The Author's POV

Brutus and Prince Kuzma stood facing each other, their eyes locked in a deadly stare.

The air around them crackled with tension as the two of them prepared to engage in battle.

Brutus gripped his massive battle axe tightly, feeling the weight of it in his hand as he eyed the demon warily.

He had thankfully managed to recover his axe moments prior, and without it, things would've been extremely difficult for him.

Fwap!

The Prince spread its wings wide, revealing its imposing height and lanky build. Its eyes glinted with an eerie light, and its lips twisted into a wicked grin.

"I have to admit, I severely underestimated you, Brutus."

Prince Kuzma sneered.

"But that's still far from enough. You'd be delusional if you thought that my city would fall to the likes of you orcs."

Brutus said nothing, but he felt a surge of anger rising within him.

He was already aware of how insidious and scummy demons were, but having experienced them firsthand, he could barely keep his emotions in check.

He knew that the battle ahead would be a difficult one, but he was determined to let him pay the price of trampling all over his honor.

"Khhhaar!"

Without warning, the orc charged forward with a fearsome roar, his axe held high above his head.

Prince Kuzma watched him approach with a look of amusement on his face.

"Don't think that because I previously didn't fight you head on that I'm weaker than you!"

Clank!

A pressurized wind gale formed from the point of contact between the two powerful beings as they fought each other in a fierce battle that resulted in a shower of sparks and a thunderous clash of their weapons.

The loud sound of their clashes was heard all across the land.

BOOOM―! Staggering back a few steps, Brutus felt a rush of adrenaline coursing through his veins.

Swoosh!

He swung his axe with all his might, but Prince Kuzma was too quick, dodging the blow and counterattacking with a flurry of claws that were as hard as his axe.

Clank―!

"Ukh."

Brutus barely managed to block the demon's strikes with his arms, which creaked under the force of the onslaught.

"I noticed this before, but your skin is a lot tougher than I thought!"

Prince Kuzma taunted, his voice dripping with contempt.

Brutus gritted his teeth, his jaw clenching in anger.

He growled.

"You talk too much."

Clank―!

He swung his axe down, and sparks flew in the air.

Claaaank―!

battle raged on, the two exchanged blows with savage intensity. Their weapons clashed and rang out, sending showers of sparks flying

"Argh!"

for the Prince's midsection. The Prince was

"Ahkkkh!"

pain, his black blood spilling onto the ground. Touching the ground, the land

"Y... you..."

a powerful blast of demonic energy. The attack was swift and powerful, sending Brutus flying across

Boom―!

ground; his

up, Prince Kuzma approached him,

He snarled.

should have stayed down when you had the chance,

feet,

"Again..."

He growled.

"You talk too much."

a cold and

"So be it."

Clank―!

Prince Kuzma locked in a deadly struggle that seemed to go on

toward a stalemate, a sudden cracking sound echoed from the distance, and the two of them came

quickly fell,

C..Craack!

were gradually growing wider with each passing second, intertwining with each other like

tens of thousands upon tens of thousands of orcs lined up outside the barrier with their shields and weapons drawn, the demons that stood behind

"Karum!"

land, and a formidable power erupted from within their own

Craack!

on the barrier, and the expression

took his gaze away from the barrier and looked back at Prince Kuzma,

miss

your eyes

"Wh―"

Swoosh!

way, and it wasn't until the axe was only a few centimeters away from him that Prince Kuzma realized

"Eh, ah!?"

he turned around and brought his wings in front

body toward the ground, where it slammed into the surface and created a sizable

Boom―!

crashing against the ground, and he ran

his steps, and when he finally materialized in front of the bewildered Prince,

Swoosh!

tore itself apart and twisted itself around the axe, which

anything else, and at the same time, Prince Kuzma's expression changed drastically, and demonic energy erupted out of his body and covered every

was too

BOOOM―!

ground, a cacophony of cracking sounds

know what had just happened as Prince Kuzma's body

legs, or his arms… They were all broken, and like a broken toy, Prince Kuzma lay on the ground with all of

"Uhhh."

layer of demonic energy encircled his body and began to slowly heal

Rumble―!

Brutus reached the Prince and was able to look down

raise his axe once more, the icy

"N… no."

to struggle,

was far

Swoosh!

as it was about to land directly over

Smack!