The Demon King's Black castle once was a grand structure, but now most of it lay in ruins. Earthlings had fought their way into the castle, the ground painted red and leaving mutated corpses scattered everywhere. As one got close to the castle, the number of corpses increased, reaching its peak in the most important room—the Throne Room.

Massive two-sided doors were opened, revealing a room illuminated by a dark blue fire. The room was enormous, the size of five football pitches combined. Three rows of massive pillars supported the roof, and the floor was strewn with countless mutilated corpses—humans, elves, dwarves, and many other races mixed with demon corpses. In Some spots there were corpse mountains few feet tall, and their eerie appearance grew more unsettling as one approached the throne. The room still echoed with wails for help; the dying knew their fate but still cried out until their last breath.

But the last fight between the last hero and the Demon King was still happening.

Ting…

Ting…

Ting…

The human hero, clad in golden armour with a giant great sword ablaze, faced the massive black claws of the 10-foot-tall Demon King. They clashed, creating sparks that illuminated the room. Their size difference resembled a battle between an adult and a 10-year-old, but their fight could only conclude with one party's last breath.

But as the fight continued, the strain on both combatants became evident. Despite both of them being (S+ Rank) beings, the hero found himself at a disadvantage due to the raw power of the Demon King. The continuous hours of their intense battle began to take a toll, not just physically but psychologically as well. The hero's “Avenger campaign”, spanning months to reach this point, had its impact.

The Demon King, too, was not faring well. The hero's holy attacks proved to be the bane of demons, and the Demon King was now burned all over, his savagery the only aspect still on display. The clash of wills between them intensified as they fought on, each determined to achieve their respective goals that would shape the fate of their worlds.

Ting.

The resounding sound of the final claw attack echoed through the throne room, breaking the stalemate. The hero, drained of strength, lost his footing and knelt down.

WHOOSH

With the sound of tearing air apart, the demon's left claw came lighting fast, directly at his head, to finish off this annoying battle.

Boom...

As soon as the hero knelt, he knew in mind, "It's now or never." The hero suddenly exploded with power, activating two trump card skills at the same time.

The first skill amplified his power threefold for 3 seconds, reaching an immense power level equivalent to (SS rank). With this newfound strength, he swiftly slashed his great sword upwards like it was made of feather, cutting through the incoming left hand by the elbow even faster than the incoming attack.

Because of the unexpected attack and loss of hand, the Demon King lost his balance, staggered back and knelt down. Blood gushed out of his severed arm like a small stream.

Using the opening, the hero rushed in, thrusting his sword into the middle of the Demon King's chest, where the demon's core was located.

The demon core, the most vulnerable part of the demon, was mostly inside the body, with only a small glowing part exposed. Apart from their body size, another factor that indicated their hierarchy was how much of the core was visible. The larger the exposed core, the higher the demon's rank. This was a result of their evolution, a source of both their strength and pride, but it also became their biggest weakness.

Many high-ranking demons had taken numerous measures to protect their core, such as wearing armour, using artifacts, or even possessing skills specifically designed for its protection.

Thrust

He felt his sword go through the demon's body, cutting through like butter. Not even the Demon King's armour, two artifacts, and defensive skill were able to withstand the power of his second skill.

This was due to his second trump card skill:

(Set skill) Absolute Knight’s Sword - for 5 seconds, your sword becomes unstoppable and undefendable. It becomes absolute.

This (SS rank) sword and armour set were gifts from his master for this war. This was one reason that gave the human hero the confidence of winning this war.

Crack

His aim was missed by a thread. The sword went just a notch below the demon's core, but the sharp edge of the sword still touched the core. The power of the strike left the demon's core cracked.

“Let’s rip the demon's core half," he thought. From the corner of his eyes, he saw a sneer on the demon king's face. He felt something is wrong.

Boom.

Suddenly, his golden armour was blown away to pieces. With horror in his eyes, he looked down to see himself buck naked, just with his sword in hand. The hero watched as the same demon’s hand—demon king's right hand—touched the now non-existent armour and went towards his hips, gripping it. Then, he simply crushed it into a bloody mess.

As the hero's mind was still in shock, he questioned himself, "Why?" Nothing seemed to go right from the beginning of his plan.

Two seconds of his 3-second power outburst skill were wasted when his attempt to break the demon's core turned out to be futile. He tried to cut the demon's core to redeem his failed attempt in the next second, but his action stopped midway as his armour ripped to pieces. The loss of his armour wrote his fate in stone.

As his armour ripped off, he was no longer able to use the Absolute Knight's Sword skill to its full extent. Cutting through the demon's core became a hurdle due to how sturdy it was. Additionally, his armour had added some stats to his base stats, and losing them made him even weaker. When his first skill’s cooldown period came, his stats also took another hit.

"No chance anyone knew about my skills." He tried to find a reason for his failure.

He had kept his trump cards well hidden, knowing that there were traitors among humans. Not even his wives, kids, master, or friends knew the full extent of his power. Also, The Demon King's skill used to rip his armour was unfamiliar, and the Demon king had never displayed it in public throughout the war. Living beings on the planet had no records of him possessing such a skill.

And the Demon King only used it when his sword was in the Demon King's body, when he was least mobile. It almost seemed like the Demon King knew what was going to happen in the future, what exactly was in his mind, and had a counter for that.

Thud

The hero, the moment his hip broke, fell down like a tree. A few seconds later, he woke up from the stupor as waves of pain hit him like a tidal wave. The pain grew more intense with time, and Hunters, being more sensitive than normal humans, felt the pain acutely. He could still feel a few skin and muscle threads attached to his now-severed leg, and blood was gushing out profusely. Despite the overwhelming pain, an innate human survival instinct kicked in. He wanted to get away from this place, to go back home. Crawling away unknowingly, he sensed his leg slowly dragging along with him.

"Somehow, I've got to live. I have to go back to my wives, to my kids, to my master. To my Family." That single thought echoed in his mind.

For the first time, he regretted the decisions he made. He regretted being here, being arrogant, and being an idiot. However, there was no medicine for regret, he knew that.

The Demon King looked at the naked human, trying to crawl away with a sneer on his face. In a few seconds, he stopped bleeding in his arm. Then, he slowly walked towards the human, grabbed his head.

The last thing the human hero, who should have won this fight, saw was a claw covering his head, and in his mind,

"If I could have one more chance,"

Plop

"HA HA HA HA!"

The Demon King laughed menacingly, looking at the now head crushed human hero's body.

"Finally, I've dealt with the humans. Now I can start my plans for the Earth!" he roared.

Ripping was an innate skill that every demon had, but most stopped paying attention to it as they rose in rank and got more powerful skills. However, he never stopped using his skill, and in secret, it leveled up to (SS Rank). Now, he finally used it in public. He complimented himself for his ingenuity. As the ruler, he quickly calmed down and started to mend his core and heal his arm, sitting on his throne with the hero's dead body at his feet.

After the demon king settled on his throne, the wails for help continued to echo throughout the room. Ignoring them, he focused on mending his cracked core and the hand, his mind already planning his next moves. The cries of pain were like background music to him, and even the demons who begged for help didn't warrant a glance. His mentality was clear:

"All weaklings must die."

Minutes passed, and finally, the last wail ceased, along with the beating hearts of the fallen. Feeling secure and alone in the room, the demon king let down his guard. Little did he know, there was someone with a death wish ready to introduce themselves.

Sheew

Sensing a sudden danger, the Demon King's eyes snapped open, but it was too late.

Ting

An arrow hit his already cracked core and caused even more cracks.

Roar!

“Where is this fucker?” The demon king couldn’t find the assailant right away.

The demon king had to use his eye skill to locate the individual, spotting him taking cover behind a mountain of corpses as he readied his next arrow. Despite his wounds, the figure remained silent, concealing himself as much as possible. The demon king observed the silver substance covering the damaged areas of his armor, indicating a makeshift repair.

This survivor managed to endure, yet instead of fleeing the room and returning to Earth, he seemed to have a death wish, choosing to confront him.

The absence of any heartbeat or breathing sound of this guy caught the demon king's attention.

“Maybe it's because of that weird armor he is wearing,” He guessed.

Despite his outwardly savage demeanor, the demon king remained cautious and wary of the unknown. Observing the glowing armor of his assailant, he couldn't determine whether the being before him was human or of another species.

“I must take care of this weird armor and confirm the identity of this individual's race and power level before he can react to the situation. If this guy is more powerful than me, I need to escape quickly. With the state of my core, I can’t put up a proper fight.” Demon king quickly decided.

In an instant, the Demon King appeared before him, poised to strike with his signature claw attack with ripping skill activated.

Bam!

With formidable force, the blow sent the figure through the air, tearing apart his armor mid-flight.

Even the Demon King appeared momentarily taken aback by his appearance—a bald figure with a slender frame, unnaturally pale complexion, lifeless eyes, and coated in a slick substance reminiscent of an extraterrestrial being.

"It seems you're nothing more than a weak human," the Demon King remarked with a hint of mockery, relieved to encounter a human who is only at (B-rank).

The Demon King advanced with a predatory look in his eyes. Meanwhile, the human, struggling to rise, clenched a dagger salvaged from a corpse. As the Demon King drew nearer, a sudden fire enveloped the human, engulfing him in flames in mere seconds.

" So a skill huh, come on. Let's test how strong your skill is," the Demon King roared, finding amusement in the human's courage to challenge him, who must have been only cannon fodder in the war.

Aarh

With a weak war cry, the human launched himself at the Demon King. Intrigued, the Demon King decided to play with his prey, casually grabbing the flaming assailant by the chest as though handling a trifle. However, the human, undeterred, began a crazed assault, stabbing at the Demon King's arm relentlessly. Strikes drew no blood. To the demon king, they were like mosquito bites.

Demon King wanted to crush the human just with the pressure, but to his surprise, the human's strength suddenly surged, magnifying threefold from his initial power. He was finally able to draw the demon king's blood.

Even after his sudden power increase, he was only equal to (B+ rank) power level but for (S rank) demon king; it was nothing. As there was nothing to worry about, Demon King, who was on full alert a few seconds ago, slowly tightened his grip. Human's resistance waned, his stabbing got increasingly weakened, yet he still stabbed but with diminished vigor.

"Too fragile," the Demon King mused, noting the human's sudden increase in strength went away and now he was even weaker.

Now the resistance is gone. He lost his urge to crush this bug. Suddenly, he remembered the still cracked core. A sense of urgency overtook him. He is here having fun by crushing a worthless bug, but his biggest weakness still hasn't been dealt with. He needed to remedy it swiftly because who knew were there other guys like this idiot waiting to pounce at him but more powerful, and so he decided to dispatch the human with haste, aiming for one last bit of amusement before doing so.

Stepping back, the Demon King seized the human by the arm and, channeling his power, hurled him away like a spear. With satisfaction, he observed as the human crashed through three towering pillars, landing in a crumpled rag.

"Ha ha! That was entertaining, and I got through three pillars! I must do this often," the Demon King mused as he strode away.

Yet, a strange sensation pricked at him, prompting him to glance back. Despite the visible injuries—broken bones sticking out from limbs and the persistent flames—the human, displaying an unnerving resilience, managed to rise, gripping the shattered pillar.

"You resilient pest," the Demon King remarked with a mix of frustration and annoyance.

Demon King advanced slowly toward the human, who clung desperately to the pillar, clutching the dagger tightly.

"Aargh!"

The human cried out as the Demon King closed in once more. Seizing the opportunity, he lunged again with the dagger, only to find himself trapped by the Demon King's grasp. The Demon King seized his right hand, which had the dragger, making it impossible to move with his claw, then he brought the human up to his face level, by bringing him close, He wanted to ensure the last thing that human would see is his face.

Crush.

Crack.

Just a split second before the Demon King could crush the human's chest, the human dropped the dagger from his right hand to his left, which was free in the air and then plunged it straight into the Demon King's core.

Crack. Crack.

"No, no, no!"

The Demon King exclaimed in dismay, releasing the human and sinking to his knees, desperately attempting to mend his fracturing core, which now resembled a spider's web. Meanwhile, the human tumbled to the ground, knowing his right lung and chest ribs were shattered and his right arm severed. His eyes still burned with purpose, his body still ablaze like a torch.

"Finish him, Finish him!"

Echoed continuously in his mind as he dragged himself toward the demon, a trail of blood marking his path. Summoning every ounce of remaining strength, he launched himself at the Demon King, who is trying to concentrate and mend his fractured core by burning his life force.

Despite the Demon King's towering stance, the determined human climbed onto his folded leg, unleashing a barrage of punches with his left hand. In a crazed frenzy, he attempted to disrupt the demon's focus.

“It seemed to be working”—the Demon King observed his core slowly beginning to heal. Ignoring the human's futile assault, the Demon King doubled down on his concentration.

But as the human realized his efforts were in vain, desperation took hold. In a final act of desperation, he resorted to a tactic as old as humanity itself, what all humans do when faced with an impossible to beat foe – we bite—he sank his teeth into one of the Demon King's fingers with all his might.

Demon King felt the human's bite, but he refused to cease his actions. With a swift motion, he struck out, aiming to hurl the human aside like a worthless bug, again. Although successful, he underestimated the human's resilience and the strength of his jaws. As the human was flung through the air, causing him to fly with a momentum akin to a baseball, albeit with the added complication of the Demon King's finger in his mouth.

The Demon King's fury escalated, not only because of the loss of his finger, but because of the now missing ring. "No, my ring!" he bellowed in anger.

Meanwhile, the human collided with a nearby wall, collapsing in a heap. Despite his inner resolve urging him to rise, his body felt limp, even his eyelids refusing to obey. Only the sheer will of the human supported him throughout this fight.

"Open your eyes! Open them, damn it!" he screamed inwardly. "You must end this! You must fight! I got to do this..!"

But his body remained unresponsive. As the shadow of the looming Demon King filled his fading vision.