William had only ever heard stories of the frontlines from his father. Tales of chaos, of fear, of men standing against monsters that should not exist. But seeing it with his own eyes was something else entirely.

His eyes stayed wide, tracking every movement, every spell, every counter without missing a beat. Attacks overlapped, defenses shifted, and formations changed in real time. It was violent. It was precise.

And it was intoxicating.

"Holy shit… this is awesome," he muttered under his breath, a grin spreading across his face despite the carnage.

To his left, a small unit had engaged a grotesque Devil, its towering frame covered in warped flesh and jagged growths. They kept it pinned with relentless elemental pressure, never allowing it a moment to stabilize.

Three sorcerers stood at the core of the assault, each wielding a blade instead of a staff.

The first moved forward and drove his weapon into the ground.

Crackle

Dark lightning burst from the point of contact, crawling outward like living serpents. The arcs slithered across the scorched earth and climbed the Devil's legs, wrapping around its massive body. Electricity snapped and surged, forcing spasms through its limbs as the stench of burning flesh filled the air.

Before the creature could recover, the second sorcerer slammed both palms onto the ground.

For a heartbeat, the battlefield went silent.

Then—

DOOOOOM

The earth ruptured.

A roaring geyser exploded upward beneath the Devil, hurling boiling water and superheated steam skyward. The thunder from the eruption overlapped with the lightning still coursing through its body, amplifying the damage. Scalding heat tore into its flesh, peeling skin and exposing blackened muscle beneath.

"GHRUAAANGH!"

The Devil roared in agony, thrashing wildly as it tried to tear itself free. One massive arm slammed into the ground, cracking stone and sending debris flying, but it failed to escape the overlapping assaults.

That was when the third mage moved.

He stepped forward, eyes sharp, blade angled downward.

"Bind, complete!"

The Devil's shadow twisted unnaturally, stretching and flattening before snapping shut like a trap. In an instant, the creature froze in place, its movements arrested as its own shadow anchored it to the ground.

The opening was absolute.

The other two did not hesitate.

Blades flashed. Spells erupted in rapid succession. Lightning spears pierced its torso. Pressurized water blades carved deep gashes across its limbs. Each impact tore open fresh wounds, layers of flesh ripping apart under the combined assault.

The behemoth staggered in place, trapped, battered, and bleeding as the coordinated barrage continued without mercy.

KRUUUUUU

The sound tore through the battlefield like a war horn, raw and violent.

On the other side of the frontline, another unit was locked in combat with a hulking minotaur. The creature stood like a living siege engine, muscles packed tight beneath thick hide, a massive club clutched in its hands.

It swung.

The weapon howled through the air, heavy enough to shatter bone and stone alike, but it struck nothing.

All four soldiers were already gone from the ground.

They had taken to the sky in unison.

"Woah…" William breathed, eyes widening.

Each of them bore wings, but none were the same. Feathers, membranes, and strange hybrid forms spread from their backs, catching the light of spells and burning terrain below.

"They must have been kept in a single unit because of their similar traits," he realized, watching them reposition instinctively in the air.

The soldier with snowy white wings folded them close to his body, frost spreading outward along the feathers. Then he snapped them open.

"Ice age!"

The air screamed.

A shockwave of cold erupted from him, the temperature dropping instantly. Frost raced across the battlefield, coating broken ground, shattered weapons, and scorched corpses alike. Ice bloomed outward like a living thing, turning everything within reach pale and brittle.

The minotaur was hit head-on.

A thin but rapidly thickening layer of ice crawled over its legs and torso, sealing joints and slowing movement. Steam rose where its heat fought the cold.

But it was a ranked Devil.

The creature snarled, muscles flexing as cracks formed across the ice.

GRUUUU

It roared, its voice carrying unnatural force. The skill activated instantly.

<Taunt>The pressure hit like a hammer.

Even William felt it from afar, a suffocating weight pressing down on his chest, demanding attention, demanding fear. The ground trembled as the minotaur's presence swelled, trying to dominate everything in its sight.

But the winged soldiers did not falter.

"Hmph."

The one with violet, webbed wings drifted forward. His eyes were wide, smooth, and eerily featureless. No pupils. No whites.

Just violet glass.

He opened his mouth.

The sound came next.

It was faint. Almost nothing.

William frowned, straining his ears. He could hear it, barely. A sharp, piercing vibration that crawled under the skin instead of through the air.

"Is that soundwaves?" he realized.

The effect was immediate.

The minotaur staggered, its roar cutting off abruptly. It dropped its club with a heavy thud and clutched its head, bellowing in pain as blood seeped from its ears. The taunt shattered, its oppressive presence collapsing like broken glass.

That was all the opening they needed.

The soldier with dark orange wings surged upward, climbing fast until he was a blazing silhouette against the smoke-filled sky. Heat rippled around him, the air warping as power gathered.

He twisted mid-air.

Once.

Twice.

His body began to spin, faster and faster, wings folding tight as his form turned into a screaming drill of compressed force.

"Die!"

He plunged.

DOOOOOOM

The impact shook the battlefield.

The ground exploded outward as his spinning form slammed straight into the minotaur's skull. Bone shattered. Ice and blood sprayed in all directions. The creature's body froze for a split second before collapsing inward, its massive frame buckling under the sheer force.

The shockwave knocked debris into the air, sending cracks racing through the frozen terrain.

William stared, heart pounding, breath caught in his throat.

But that was not it.

As William turned, he found Talec fighting a bulking devil all alone.

His body was surrounded by three silver rings that were causing every attack from the Devil to reflect back on it.

Every punch, every poison splash struck it back as if Talec was standing there as a mirror and reflecting everything back without taking a single damage.

And not only that,

*CLANG*

His strength...it was admirable.

The devil groaned in pain when Talec struck his blade, causing a gash tore open in its skin.

Just then, a realisation settled on William,

"Where is the fourth Devil?"

There was no doubt that there had been four Ranked-Devils when William opened his eyes over the Death Sinks.

But right now, he could only see three of them, all being defeated by the militants.

Then what about the fourth one?

William looked around, his brows furrowing.

Without much thought, he took to the skies to survey the surroundings.

It couldn't have returned to the Death Sink, could it? No, that was highly unlikely.

Then… did it run toward the town?

There was a strong possibility. Just after their arrival, William had caused a massive explosion that curtained the battlefield for a few seconds. Could it have used that moment?

His heart grew heavy as he decided to check on Emma first before investigating anywhere else.

He didn't bother informing Talec, as the man was fully occupied with his own battle.

William flew over the campsite, heading straight toward the town.

His eyes briefly landed on Brutus, who was standing there idly, with no devil in sight. Of course, ever since the Ranked ones had arrived, the weaker demons had stopped emerging.

He then headed straight for the eastern side, and the sight before him left William stunned.

It took him a few moments to believe what he was seeing.

The same grotesque monster that had left the Death Sink a few minutes ago now lay dead before Emma.

The girl had suffered several wounds, but it was undeniable that she was still breathing and standing.

William slowly lowered himself, his disbelief easing as he noticed a violet-haired woman approaching Emma from behind.

Since she showed no hostile intent, William didn't intercept her and instead landed in front of Emma.

"Hey… are you okay?"

Emma flinched when he appeared before her. But that voice, that face, allowed her shoulders to relax as she finally let out a breath of relief.

"Yes...I am fine..." Emma muttered as she inched closer and leaned against her support pillar.

She really needed this...having someone she could blindly trust around her after the long battle. She needed some time to gather her thoughts.

William gathered the girl in his arms as the violet-haired woman, who had her eyes covered with a fabric, spoke, "Didn't I tell you, little one? You just have to believe in yourself."

William hummed, "Emma...?"

The silver head exhaled a sigh before she turned towards the woman and said, "Actually..."

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