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

"Argh!"

was able to evade the blow, but not before

"Ahkkkh!"

in pain, his black blood spilling onto the

"Y... you..."

of demonic energy. The attack was

Boom―!

ground; his armor

up, Prince Kuzma approached him,

He snarled.

when you

rose to his feet, clutching his battle axe

"Again..."

He growled.

"You talk too much."

laughed in a cold and

"So be it."

Clank―!

Kuzma locked in

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

quickly fell, and Brutus's

C..Craack!

growing wider with each passing

the barrier with their shields and weapons

"Karum!"

land, and a formidable power erupted from within their own

Craack!

formed on the barrier, and

looked back at Prince

miss his

eyes on the

"Wh―"

Swoosh!

axe was only a few centimeters away from him that

"Eh, ah!?"

around and brought his wings in

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

Boom―!

as his feet came crashing against the ground,

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

Swoosh!

itself around the axe, which shone with a dark

that was applied to the axe was unlike anything else, and at the same time, Prince Kuzma's

it was

BOOOM―!

to the ground, a cacophony of cracking sounds resounded throughout the

what had just happened as Prince Kuzma's

arms… They were all broken, and like a

"Uhhh."

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

Rumble―!

reached the Prince and was able

the Prince of Kuzma saw him raise his axe once more, the icy look that he

"N… no."

tried to struggle,

far too

Swoosh!

down, and just as it was about to land directly over

Smack!