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―!

exchanged blows with savage intensity. Their weapons clashed and rang out, sending showers of

"Argh!"

swung his axe again, this time aiming for the Prince's midsection. The Prince was

"Ahkkkh!"

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

"Y... you..."

energy. The attack was swift and powerful, sending

Boom―!

his armor dented,

Kuzma approached

He snarled.

should have stayed down when you had the

his feet, clutching his battle axe

"Again..."

He growled.

"You talk too much."

demon laughed in a cold and

"So be it."

Clank―!

Kuzma locked in a deadly struggle that seemed to

situation between the two of them appeared to be steadily heading toward a stalemate, a sudden

Kuzma's expression quickly fell,

C..Craack!

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

barrier with

"Karum!"

the land, and a

Craack!

on the barrier, and the expression of the demons

barrier and looked back at Prince Kuzma,

didn't miss

your eyes on

"Wh―"

Swoosh!

was only a

"Eh, ah!?"

his panic, he turned around and brought his wings in

hurled his body toward the ground, where it slammed into the surface

Boom―!

as his feet came crashing against the ground, and he ran toward where Prince

materialized in front of the

Swoosh!

itself apart and twisted itself around the axe, which shone

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

was

BOOOM―!

ground, a cacophony of

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

were all broken, and like a

"Uhhh."

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

Rumble―!

reached the Prince and was able to look down on

axe once more, the icy

"N… no."

to struggle,

was far

Swoosh!

as it was about to land directly over

Smack!