Black hair so dark that it seemed to absorb the light around it framed the childishly innocent face of the Demon King lounging on her throne. Her bewitching red eyes shone with the light of a strong will. The curved horns on the side of her head marked her as a demon. She wore an obscene red dress that was mismatched against her flat as a board chest.

“Welcome to my humble abode, oh Heroes of Yg. You have successfully gained my interest by making it this far.”

Serafall’s cute voice dripped with arrogance. The hero, Eden, didn’t hesitate to step forward and confront the Demon King.

“Serafall, your tyranny ends here. We will defeat you and restore peace to the world.”

“Ha! Weaklings like you, defeat me? It would take an army for you to stand any chance.”

Serafall’s eyes twinkled with a cruel light. She descended from her throne and faced us with a wicked smirk. To an outsider, it looked like seven warriors were bullying a single child, but that couldn’t be further than the truth.

It was only a game, but Demon King Serafall’s presence was far stronger than anyone else I had ever encountered. Cold sweat spilled down my back and deathly chills wracked my body from just standing in front of her.

“What are you waiting for? Did you plan to defeat me by boring me to death?”

Mocking words shook us out of our stupor. Eden bravely gave the signal to begin.

“Attack!”

A wave of attacks closed in on Demon King Serafall in an instant. Eden materialized a great bow in her hands and fired an arrow radiating a powerful light. Byrnhildr waved a giant fan and sharp, cutting winds ripped towards the stationary Demon King.

Cross’ dual pistols and Freya’s throwing daggers, as well as Dawn’s drones added to the barrage. I joined in by firing shadow bolts from [Umbra Sanctuary], but a curtain of darkness intercepted all of our attacks.

“Behind me!”

Athena urgently shouted. The barriers surrounding her tower shield glowed with maximum power. All of us quickly crammed behind Athena, and it was not a moment too soon. The curtain of destruction raced across the room, disintegrating everything in their path. 

“Urk!”

The light from Athena’s barrier’s flickered under the terrible blow. Death swept past us, leaving only the small area behind Athena untouched. Athena fell to a knee as soon as the blow passed and the light of her barriers dimmed.

“Ho? Maybe you are worth my time after all. Most perish to a single move of mine. I wonder how long you will last. Please, try to keep me entertained.”

This wasn’t their first time fighting Serafall and so, Eden and her party knew exactly how to capitalize on her arrogance.

“Spread out and bombard her from all directions. Don’t give her time to attack.”

Athena let her tower shield fade away and materialized a huge minigun in her hands. A storm of bullets hurled towards Serafall. All of them harmlessly disappeared into the black shield in front of Serafall’s outstretched hand.

Freya disappeared and reappeared behind Serafall with a cruel death scythe. The Demon King reacted like she had eyes in the back of her head. She easily ducked Freya’s blow and summoned a black spike from underneath Freya’s feet. 

“Die!”

“Too bad, you missed~”

Freya’s short maid skirt swished as she danced out of range of the black spike. Serafall had no time to pursue her. Eden’s shining holy sword and Brynhildr’s cold longsword were on her. The two of them coordinated their attacks, never giving the Demon King a chance to rest.

“Tsk. Stay still, you slippery rats.”

“Gahaha. Not so fast, little girl.”

Cross stepped in front of Serafall with her gauntlets equipped and tanked a blow, giving the hero and the swordsman a chance to strike a decisive blow. Sharp steel bounced off soft flesh as Eden and Brynhildr failed to pierce the barrier protecting the Demon King’s body.

Dawn and I did not remain idle either. Dawn launched a steady stream of spellcraft at the lone Demon King as she swapped between her staff, drones, and grimoire. I used [Umbra Sanctuary] to pepper her with shadow bolts. Every spell fizzled out upon contact with her body.

We had no choice but to dance on a knife’s edge while slowly shaving off Serafall’s protective barrier. Anyone that ate one of her counterattacks without a shield in place would die instantly.

“Annoying flies!”

Serafall growled in frustration as another one of her attacks hit nothing but air. Even if she could summon spikes or waves of destruction with the wave of her hand, it meant little when every attack was read in advance and avoided.

We all felt it. The tides of battle had clearly shifted in our favor. The brilliant coordination between the hero party made it impossible for the Demon King to land a solid hit. Brynhildr’s ice blue eyes lit up the moment Eden’s sword scratched Serafall’s body.

“This is the end, demon!”

Her longsword glistened with a cold light as she activated her strongest technique. An unstoppable thrust akin to teleportation stabbed into the Demon King’s chest.

“Gah!”

Serafall cried out in pain from the gaping hole in her chest. The light dimmed in her eyes and she fell powerlessly to the floor. The fallen Demon King’s body grew still.

“Get back, everyone!”

We all frantically retreated from Serafall’s fallen body at Eden’s shout. A wave of pure destructive energy spilled from the Demon King’s body and erased the ground underneath her. Serafall floated up in the air and her appearance began to change.

Her limbs grew longer and she lost her childish baby fat. It was useless to try to interrupt her transformation while she was surrounded by such potent destructive energies. Eden and the others used this time to down potions and cast spells to recover to their top condition.

Meanwhile, I watched in fascination as the childish Demon King transformed into a seductive teen. Serafall healed up to the point where it was like she was never wounded. The bewitching light of her red eyes sent hot shivers down my spine.

Those eyes held my soul prisoner. My heart pounded painfully loud in my chest and heat rushed to my cheeks. The girls in my party were evidently not as distracted as me. A valiant cry broke the silence the moment the destructive energy around Serafall disappeared.

“Fire!”

Following Eden’s command, a storm of ranged attacks fell on the unprotected Demon King’s body. The magical spells exploded, temporarily obstructing Serafall from our eyes. In the corner of my vision, I saw a flurry of comments from viewers of Eden’s livestream. Of course, one of them had to ask the dreaded question, did we kill Serafall?

A cold voice shattered that naive fantasy.

“Destruction is the final destination of all civilizations. It is the natural order of the world for everything to disappear into nothingness. It takes a lifetime to raise a nation, but only a single moment to obliterate it.”

A black wave of energy abruptly erased everything, revealing an unharmed Demon King.

“Humans, your existence is a mistake. You are nothing more than a species of ignorant apes that opposes the natural order of the world. As the King of Destruction, it is only fitting I right this grievous mistake.”

Eden hotly protested the words of the King of Destruction.

“You are wrong! The light that dwells within the heart of every human gives birth to endless possibilities. No matter how strong your powers of destruction may be, it can not rob humans of the will to seize their bright futures.”

A human hero carrying a radiant light opposed the demon king wielding destructive darkness. It was like I was witnessing a fairy tale in person, but this was no fairy tale.

Dark emotions stirred in the depths of my heart. We may be comrades fighting against the same impossible enemy, but I was too different from the others.

This was only a game to me. There was no need to get into a philosophical debate with a scripted program. The radiance of the hero, Eden, was far too blinding to my eyes. Seeing her in person was even more blinding than seeing her on the other side of the computer monitor.

“Ho? Then I shall put your words to the test. Proof to me that your so-called light can resist the darkness of inevitable destruction.”

Demon King Serafall snapped her fingers and a surge of darkness instantly enveloped all of us. When I regained my vision, I was standing in the middle of a black lake along with the rest of the hero party.

Heavy clouds rained destructive energies down on us. The sheer number of raindrops made them impossible to ignore and hence, it was impossible to avoid getting hurt. The hero party failed in their previous attempt precisely because of this destructive rain.

Sizzling sounds filled my ears as the rain slowly ate away at the portions of my cloak not covered by [Umbra Sanctuary]. I twirled the echo weapon in my hands and weak barriers formed around the hero party.

For the first time since I joined the hero party, I let [Umbra Sanctuary] fade away and materialized a golden grimoire, [Holy Word]. The book floated up in front of me. My finger traced a verse and a holy light suddenly enveloped my allies.

The hero party would be able to fight under the destructive rain as long as the holy magic of [Holy Word] remained. Unfortunately, my actions did not go unnoticed. Healers were always the first to die to Demon King Serafall.

“Tsk, there was a Disciple of Regeneration hiding amongst you? Blasphemer, you shall be the first to die.”

The black waters beneath the floating King of Destruction rose up into the air and formed into a deadly spear in Serafall’s hands. The spear of destruction pointed squarely at my chest.

“Athena, protect Iris at all costs!

“Yes, my hero!”

The world seemed to darken as Serafall’s spear shot towards me. Athena’s small form darted in front of me. The barriers of her tower shield flashed with a brilliant light. A loud explosion shook the world.

The spear breached Athena’s barrier’s, but true to her role as the main tank of the hero party, none of the destructive energies reached me. I let [Holy Word] fade and materialized the last of my bounded echo weapons, the [Lux Staff].

Holy light spilled from the staff, causing Athena’s wounds to heal at a speed visible to the naked eye. Within moments, Athena was back in the fight once more. Eden and the others hadn’t hesitated to attack the Demon King while I healed Athena.

Unfortunately, the situation had been reversed while I was busy healing the party’s main tank. The King of Destruction freely manipulated the black waters underneath us to create an infinite army of monsters. We were now the ones outnumbered. 

Every member of the hero party was dragged into a frantic melee. Every small advance towards the waiting Serafall was paid for in blood and sweat. Each attack that landed on them scrapped off [Holy Word]’s blessing and brought them one step closer to death. Athena and I were no exception to being surrounded by a sudden horde of monsters. An innumerable number of bodies separated us from the rest of the party. My heart sank as I watched the small main tank of the hero party desperately fight to protect me.

“Rest assured, Iris. All we need to do is hold on until Eden defeats Serafall.”

Athena’s words fell on deaf ears. I only planned to do the bare minimum as a healer for the hero party. My thoughts hadn’t changed, but using [Holy Word] once at the beginning of the fight didn’t count as fulfilling my promise.

Athena was easily handling all of the monsters around us. My presence here was nothing more than a burden. The true battlefield that required a healer was further up where Eden and Serafall fought.

A heartfelt sigh spilled from my lips. It came to this after all. I let my [Lux Staff] fade and summoned [Umbra Sanctuary].

Shadows enveloped my body and the bright, presence of life I was emitting suddenly went dark. Neither Athena nor the surrounding monsters noticed my disappearance. A fresh set of weak barriers surrounded my body as I strolled through the battlefield.

The pitter patter of the destructive rain hitting the umbrella canopy of [Umbra Sanctuary] was drowned out by the symphony of battle. The weak ripples of my footsteps on the black lake were lost amongst the furious ripples of combat.

The unintelligent monsters created from the waters of the lake ignored me as they charged at the shining bodies full of life. They were little more than puppets now that their master was preoccupied. Each step skirted danger. If even one of them brushed against my clothes, the spell hiding me would break and I would be beset by enemies on all sides.

There was no way I would make such a low level mistake. The waters grew turbulent as I entered the main battlefield. Six battered figures that had lost the protective light of [Holy Word] fought against the floating Demon King and her minions.

“Where is your light now, human? My power of destruction has crushed your so-called endless possibilities. Death is the only future left to you.”

“Don’t underestimate us!”

Eden launched a desperate assault, but it was useless before Serafall’s unmatched powers.

“Hahaha. Your friends are falling one by one even as you struggle against me. Why, I don’t sense that despicable Disciple of Regeneration anymore.”

“Iris..!”

Eden gasped in horror. The lips of the arrogant Demon King twisted in a sneer.

“I bet she spent her last moments hoping that you would save her. Alas, you never showed up and she died in despair.”

“I’ll kill you!”

The holy sword in Eden’s hand glowed a brilliant light as she dragged her wounded body for one final blow. The mocking laughter of the Demon King clearly spoke of her disdain for Eden’s efforts. Serafall wasn’t even taking Eden seriously. I had no doubt that she was already imagining her victory.

[Umbra Sanctuary] disappeared and I summoned [Lux Staff] at full strength. A second, holy light empowered the light of Eden’s sword and recovered her wounds in the blink of an eye. A brilliant radiance exploded from Eden’s body and her echo weapon, [Claiomh Solais], transformed into a blade of light.

“I-Impossible!”

Demon King Serafall cried out in horror from Eden’s sudden surge of strength. She desperately gathered her strength to resist Eden’s final blow. It was useless.

“Claiomh Solais, show the world the brilliance of humanity!”

Eden swung her sword of light and cut the world in two. Demon King Serafall’s body split in half and fell into the black lake below. At the same time, all of the monsters lost their shape and fell apart.

Silence returned to the once chaotic battlefield. Nobody could believe the sudden reversal. Even Eden’s livestream viewers momentarily fell silent from shock. A second later, the comment section exploded with activity.

“You did it, Eden~”

Freya appeared out of nowhere and tackled Eden to the ground with a hug. Cross dragged her battered body over to Eden and chuckled from the bottom of her heart.

“Gahaha. That is the leader of our party. You showed everyone why we are the Heroes of Yg.”

Eden had a bright smile on her face as she responded to Cross’ words while hugging Freya.

“No, Cross. We showed everyone. It would have been impossible to defeat Serafall without everyone’s help.”

The party regrouped on Eden. I let the gentle light from my [Lux Staff] slowly heal the rest of the party to their peak condition. Dawn sighed.

“I wasn’t sure if Iris would be able to make a difference, but your judgment was right as usual. Her timely healing snatched victory from the jaws of defeat.”

The mood lightened as the hero party chattered amongst themselves. They were all understandably giddy with success. No one had ever managed to defeat Demon King Serafall.

“Umm…”

An uncharacteristically hesitant voice broke through the cheerful mood. Cross playfully spoke up.

“Speak up, Athena. What is it?”

“...Why haven’t we returned to Demon King Serafall’s castle?”

Dawn started muttering at Athena’s words.

“Come to think of it, it is strange. I didn’t see any notification or reward that usually comes from defeating a demon king either.”

A bad feeling welled up within my heart. As if to prove that bad feeling, a massive earthquake shook the world. Turbulent waves formed on the black lake. My teammates cried out in surprise.

“Ahhh!”

“Kyaaa!”

“What is going on!?”

Eden’s shout calmed down her panicking comrades.

“Careful. It is not over yet!”

Black water rose up into the air at the location where Demon King Serafall fell and coiled into a sphere. The sphere sucked in the water below it and rapidly expanded in size. Not even the cloudy sky above it was spared. It was like a black hole that sucked up everything.

All of the darkness and colors of the world disappeared into the black hole, leaving us in a pure white world. Ominous chills raced down my spine at the eerie sight. The sound of a finger snap echoed throughout the pure white world and the black hole instantly disappeared.

The figure that appeared couldn’t be called a human or a demon. Hazy, black destructive energies covered its humanoid appearance. Only the silhouette of large horns and the ruby red eyes dyed in madness spoke of the true nature of the monstrosity before us.

Goosebumps broke out on the back of my neck and a terrible foreboding filled my heart. I shifted to the side and a strong gust of wind swept past me. A terrifyingly indifferent voice spoke up from behind me.

“One.”

It took me a moment to realize that the ominous monstrosity had disappeared from my vision. My head involuntarily turned to the source of the voice only to see a black, hazy hand penetrating Athena’s chest.

“Athena!”

Eden cried out, but it was too late. Athena disintegrated into nothingness under our eyes. Just like that, a member of the hero party had died.