THE VILLAIN'S POV

Chapter 823  War is a game (2)

The monstrous tide drew closer.

The first clash was imminent.

Above—

contrary to the plan—

one of the four chosen to fight at the end moved early.

Snow Lionheart drew Vermithor in his right hand ...

and Slytherin, the blade he had taken from Nito, in his left.

His body was enveloped in his war form as he prepared to descend.

But his decision did not sit well with the others.

”Where do you think youʼre going?! Get back here—your time hasnʼt come yet!”

Kalameet snapped, clearly irritated as Snow broke formation.

Snow didnʼt even look at him.

”Iʼm going. Against that number… they wonʼt survive.”

His words were likely true.

But Kalameet wasnʼt convinced.

He disliked how quickly Snow gave in to the pressure—

to the point that he nearly stepped forward to stop him himself.

Then Frey raised a hand, stopping him.

”Go,” Frey said calmly.

”But conserve your strength. The real battle hasnʼt even begun.”

Frey sided with Snow.

Snow smiled faintly and nodded.

”I donʼt need you to tell me that.”

With that, he shot forward ...

a streak of light tearing through the sky.

But instead of descending—

he ascended.

Higher and higher—

until he reached space itself.

Below him, Earth stretched out in full view.

Snow raised the Slytherin blade high.

A terrifying amount of Light Soul aura surged into it ...

then he swung.

A colossal arc of light split the void and descended toward the battlefield.

Slytherinʼs ability amplified power with distance ...

and Snow had created the maximum possible gap.

The result…

was catastrophic.

Below—

the demonic army had nearly reached the human forces.

The clash was seconds away.

Demons.

Ultras twisted by the Demon Seed.

A grotesque, nightmarish sight.

Dark creatures blanketing the land ...

as if hell itself had spilled onto the surface.

They stretched endlessly across the horizon.

As though darkness itself had swallowed the world.

Then—

before they could collide—

a beam of light pierced through the clouds.

It fell like divine judgment.

A massive pillar of purifying light crashed into the demonic army with terrifying precision.

That light ... became hope.

It ignited something within the humans.

They clung to it instinctively ..

as if it were all they had left.

More pillars followed—

slamming into different points, scattering the enemy ranks.

The overwhelming aura of light annihilated countless enemies in moments.

Though the demons continued advancing—

that display reminded humanity of one truth:

They were not helpless.

And so ... the human army surged forward.

Led by Abraham—

whose blade was the first to draw demonic blood that day.

They crashed into the enemy ranks head-on .

their roars shaking the battlefield.

They became war machines—

driven by one purpose:

to kill.

The first clash…

was catastrophic.

The transformed Ultras slaughtered many of them ... and only a few could even stand against those monsters.

Yet in return—

Abraham alone cut down just as many as those monsters did.

Wielding two blades of pure light,

he moved like a phantom through the ranks of demons, utterly indifferent to whether he was surrounded.

His strikes spread across a wide radius, devouring anything that dared come close.

The human champions followed suit.

Flames erupted.

Light surged.

Ice and countless elements clashed violently against the encroaching darkness.

Above, Snow continued raining pillars of light upon the demonic forces, striving to thin their numbers as much as possible.

But their numbers had long surpassed all expectations.

They kept pouring in from afar ...

as if all of Helmond itself had come.

They were not merely a million.

They were tens of millions.

And still… they kept increasing.

”They donʼt end…” Snow tightened his grip on his blade, his aura output rising sharply as he unleashed even more devastating attacks, detonating demons from above.

Meanwhile—

Frey and the others observed the battlefield from afar.

Kalameet, in particular, looked visibly displeased with Snowʼs intervention.

”Why did you let him go?” he demanded.

”If we all act on impulse, it will only lead us to ruin.”

Pointing downward, Kalameet spoke with restrained anger.

”My dragon kings are down there. Even without that boy of light… I am certain they would have held their ground.”

He had a point.

Fulghor said nothing—but his silence implied agreement.

Frey, however, had his own perspective.

”The enemy is using Demon Seeds,” he said briefly.

Kalameet frowned, clearly unfamiliar with the concept.

That prompted Frey to elaborate.

”They allow those creatures below to wield fragments of the power of the upper ranks. The sheer number of them… means their creator is likely nearby.”

A faint trace of anger surfaced in Freyʼs voice, despite his effort to conceal it.

”That means Maskith is here.”

Those words changed everything.

”Maskith? You mean that ancient monster of greed?” Kalameet muttered, his expression darkening.

”He is one of the Dukes of Hell,” Fulghor added, ”and it is said he rivals even the strongest among them—Gael.”

Kalameetʼs frown deepened.

”I have never met him… but my father once crossed paths with him.”

He paused.

”And he always refused to speak of it. The only thing he ever told me… was to run if I ever saw him.”

Fulghor narrowed his eyes.

For Midir—the foremost among the Seven Great Powers—to say such a thing…

only reinforced the terror behind Maskithʼs name.

”If Maskith is truly present, then everything we planned falls apart,” Frey said.

”In that case, he becomes the primary threat instead of Amon.”

His fist clenched slowly.

”If he is here… we must force him onto the battlefield as quickly as possible.”

There was a brief pause.

”Because I cannot deal with both of them at once.”

In that moment—

Kalameet realized something.

”…Donʼt tell me.”

”You sent that boy of light as bait… to force him out?”

Frey did not answer.

But his silence was answer enough.

As the battle raged on, Freyʼs Void eyes scanned relentlessly ...

searching for any trace of Amon… and Maskith.

Amon alone was already a grave concern—

especially with his world-breaking ability.

Now…

Maskith had entered the equation as well.

At that moment, Namelessʼ voice echoed within Freyʼs mind.

”Avoid fighting them both at the same time, no matter the cost. You cannot face them together.”

He continued:

”Use those present to hold one of them back while you deal with the other. That is your best option.”

A brief pause—

then colder words:

”If all options fail… and you are forced to face them both… I will take over.”

Nameless understood all too well the danger posed by Maskith—

one of the most terrifying manipulators of life and death.

”…Fine. Iʼll handle it.”

Frey replied calmly, his Void eyes glowing brighter.

”All I have to do… is find them.”

Outwardly, he appeared composed.

But every cell in his body was primed—ready to strike at any moment.

His mind churned in chaos.

ʼWhere are you, Amon…ʼ

He wanted to find him immediately—

and end him.

With his current strength, Frey was confident.

Confident he could defeat him ...

no matter what world-breaking ability he possessed.

Yet Amon did not appear.

And so Frey was forced to wait.

Kalameet and Fulghor were no different.

Fulghor had set his sights on the third seat—Vayne .

Kalameetʼs role was to confront the Duke of Hell—the assassin, Vex.

As for Snow—

he was meant to face the remaining Duke.

Which now turned out to be Maskith himself.

The balance… was already uneven.

It seemed these decisive battles would not begin anytime soon.

Below ...

the war between the armies raged on, with no major figures from the demonic side stepping forward.

Abraham fought relentlessly, cutting down vast numbers with every passing minute.

Snow supported from above.

Humanity, as a whole, fought with everything they had.

Elite students stood among the soldiers—

taking their share of blood and battle.

Some performed well.

Others… did not.

But overall—

they gave everything they had.

As befitted humanityʼs final war.

This was the night of the Shattering...

a night no being would ever forget.

...

...

 ...

A.N :

Hello everyone, itʼs been a while.

I just wanted to announce that Iʼm back, and to explain the reason for my absence. I already talked about it on the novelʼs Discord server, so some of you may have heard the news…

But Iʼll briefly mention it here as well.

Some time ago, I discovered that I had a cancerous tumor in one of the strangest places in my body—the bladder.

Fortunately, it was detected very early, which means my chances of recovery are high. Even so, it took a heavy toll on me mentally… and thatʼs the main reason behind my repeated absences.

About 2 weeks ago, I underwent a procedure to eliminate the tumor, as they described it. (Itʼs not exactly surgery in the traditional sense — they inserted a tube through… well, Iʼd rather not get into the details.) They basically dissolved or broke down the tumor ... Iʼm not sure what the precise medical term is but overall, it wasnʼt painful. That said, I did experience some side effects in the past few days, especially due to the anesthesia. The headaches were so intense that I could barely even hold my phone at times.

In any case, the procedure was successful, but I still donʼt know if the tumor has been completely eliminated. Iʼm currently following a treatment plan, and according to the doctors, it should disappear entirely. If it doesnʼt, I may need to undergo another similar procedure… and if that also fails, chemotherapy would be the next step. Letʼs hope it doesnʼt come to that.

Right now, Iʼm doing well despite everything, and I think itʼs finally time to return to writing after this break ... so youʼll be seeing new chapters from both novels in the coming days.

Take care of yourselves, especially your health, and Iʼll see you in the upcoming chapters.