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―!

on, the two exchanged blows with savage intensity. Their weapons clashed and rang

"Argh!"

The Prince was able to evade the blow, but not

"Ahkkkh!"

pain, his black blood spilling onto the ground.

"Y... you..."

demonic energy. The attack was

Boom―!

ground; his armor dented, and

stand up, Prince Kuzma approached him, his eyes blazing with

He snarled.

should have stayed down when

rose to his feet, clutching his battle

"Again..."

He growled.

"You talk too much."

demon laughed in a

"So be it."

Clank―!

the battle continued, with Brutus and Prince Kuzma locked in a deadly struggle that

toward a stalemate, a sudden cracking sound echoed from the distance,

quickly

C..Craack!

the barrier that surrounded the city, cracks had begun to appear and were gradually growing wider with each passing second, intertwining with each other like the

tens of thousands upon tens of thousands of orcs lined up outside the barrier with their

"Karum!"

reverberated throughout the land, and a formidable power erupted

Craack!

barrier, and the expression of

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

didn't miss

eyes

"Wh―"

Swoosh!

wasn't until the axe was only a few centimeters away from him that

"Eh, ah!?"

around and brought his wings

of the impact hurled his body toward the ground, where it slammed into the surface and created a

Boom―!

crashing against the ground, and he ran toward where Prince

shook with each one of his steps, and when he finally materialized in front of the bewildered

Swoosh!

apart and twisted itself around the axe, which shone with a dark green

sheer force that was applied to the axe was unlike 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―!

a cacophony of cracking

know what had just happened as Prince Kuzma's body flattened

or his arms… They were all broken, and like a broken toy, Prince Kuzma lay

"Uhhh."

a thin layer of demonic energy encircled his body and began to slowly heal his wounds; however, it was already far

Rumble―!

one step, Brutus reached the Prince and was

once more, the icy look that he gave

"N… no."

to struggle,

was far too

Swoosh!

over his core and kill him

Smack!