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―!

savage intensity. Their weapons clashed and rang out, sending

"Argh!"

The Prince was able to evade the blow, but not before Brutus managed to graze his

"Ahkkkh!"

the ground. Touching the ground,

"Y... you..."

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

Boom―!

to the ground; his

Kuzma approached

He snarled.

down when you

rose to his feet, clutching his battle axe

"Again..."

He growled.

"You talk too much."

a cold and

"So be it."

Clank―!

continued, with Brutus and Prince Kuzma locked in a deadly struggle that seemed to go

stalemate, a sudden cracking sound echoed from the distance,

Kuzma's expression quickly fell, and Brutus's

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 thin threads

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

"Karum!"

war cries reverberated throughout the land, and a formidable power erupted from

Craack!

formed on the barrier, and the

and looked back at Prince Kuzma,

miss

eyes on

"Wh―"

Swoosh!

axe was only a few centimeters away from him

"Eh, ah!?"

panic, he turned around and brought his wings in front of

toward the ground, where it slammed into the

Boom―!

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

shook with each one of his steps, and when he finally materialized in front of the bewildered Prince, he raised his axe once more and

Swoosh!

itself around the axe, which shone with a dark

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

it was too

BOOOM―!

axe came crashing to the ground, a cacophony of

need to see it to know what had

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

"Uhhh."

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

Rumble―!

taking only one step, Brutus reached the Prince and was able to look down

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

"N… no."

to

far too

Swoosh!

it was about to land directly over his core and kill him instantly, a thin hand

Smack!