The battlefield had fallen silent.
The Demonic beasts that had filled the mountains were gone.
Thousands of bodies covered the ground.
But the soldiers had no time to celebrate.
Because standing before them was something far more terrifying.
A Demon.
The black mist surrounding it continued spreading.
Every breath felt heavy.
Every movement became difficult.
The soldiers who had fought against countless beasts found their bodies refusing to obey them.
One by one, they collapsed.
Only a few remained standing.
Among them were Lucian and the expedition captain.
The captain looked around.
The strongest soldiers of the army were lying on the ground.
Some were unconscious.
Some were barely breathing.
The Demon simply watched.
As if waiting.
As if judging them.
The captain tightened his grip on his weapon.
"We cannot defeat it separately."
Lucian looked at him.
The captain's expression was serious.
"So we don't."
"We attack together."
Lucian nodded.
There was no other choice.
The remaining soldiers gathered.
Their bodies were weakened.
Their minds were affected.
But their resolve remained.
The captain raised his weapon.
"On my command."
The Demon tilted its head.
Almost amused.
Then—
"NOW!"
The soldiers charged.
For a moment, the battlefield moved again.
Humanity's final resistance.
The captain and Lucian moved at the front.
Their attacks were synchronized.
But the Demon did not even step back.
The halberd in its hand moved.
Once.
A simple movement.
Yet the force behind it was overwhelming.
The soldiers were thrown away.
Armor shattered.
Weapons broke.
Several soldiers crashed into the ground.
But they were alive.
They slowly stood again.
The Demon looked surprised.
These humans were weaker than it.
Yet they refused to fall.
Then it looked at Lucian.
The Demon sensed something.
A power opposite to its own.
Light.
The same power that had protected the soldiers before.
Lucian's body began glowing.
A white radiance spread across the battlefield.
The darkness around them weakened.
The Demonic mist became thinner.
The soldiers felt their strength return.
The Demon narrowed its eyes.
"So..."
For the first time, it spoke.
Its voice was deep and unnatural.
"Humanity has found a way to resist."
Lucian froze.
A Demon that could speak.
Think.
Understand.
This was not a beast.
This was an enemy.
The battle continued.
The soldiers attacked again.
This time, their weapons could reach the Demon.
But the difference in strength remained overwhelming.
The Demon moved like a shadow.
Every strike forced them back.
Every exchange injured them.
The captain fought desperately.
Lucian continued using the light.
But the longer the battle continued, the heavier his body became.
The power was not limitless.
Every time he used it, he felt something inside him being drained.
The light was consuming his own strength.
Still, he continued.
Because if he stopped...
Everyone would die.
Eventually, only two remained.
Lucian.
And the captain.
The others could no longer fight.
The Demon looked at them.
The mist around it grew stronger.
"Enough."
The Demon raised its halberd.
The captain stepped forward.
Lucian immediately understood.
"Captain—"
But the captain was already moving.
He charged.
The Demon swung its weapon.
The halberd pierced through his body.
The captain stopped.
Blood flowed.
But he did not fall.
Instead, he grabbed the Demon's weapon.
Holding it in place.
"Now!"
Lucian moved.
The Demon tried to pull away.
Too late.
Lucian's sword was already descending.
A flash of white light.
The Demon froze.
Then its head fell.
For a moment...
Nothing happened.
Then the Demonic mist began fading.
Slowly.
The darkness covering the battlefield disappeared.
The soldiers looked up.
The sky became visible again.
The Demon was dead.
Humanity had killed its first Demon.
But the victory came at a terrible price.
Lucian turned toward the captain.
The captain was still standing.
Barely.
"You..."
Lucian rushed toward him.
But the captain smiled.
"Looks like..."
He coughed.
"I can finally retire."
"No."
Lucian grabbed him.
"Stay awake."
The captain laughed weakly.
"You sound like Commander Max."
Then his body collapsed.
The battle ended.
But Lucian never saw the aftermath.
The moment the Demon disappeared, the final strength left his body.
The continuous use of his power had exhausted him completely.
The last thing he remembered was the soldiers shouting.
Then darkness.
When Lucian opened his eyes again, he was inside the Border infirmary.
The ceiling was unfamiliar.
His entire body felt heavy.
Bandages covered his arms and chest.
He tried to move.
Pain immediately stopped him.
"You're awake."
A healer approached.
"You were unconscious for three days."
Lucian looked around.
The infirmary was full.
Not with wounded soldiers.
With soldiers suffering.
Their bodies were covered in black patterns.
The Demonic miasma had entered them.
They were not injured.
They were fighting against corruption itself.
Some screamed in pain.
Others were unconscious.
Some soldiers held their comrades down as they struggled.
Lucian's expression darkened.
The battle had been won.
But the cost...
Was enormous.
When Lucian left the infirmary, he saw the truth.
The Border was no longer the same place he had arrived at months ago.
The Wall was damaged.
The soldiers were exhausted.
And beyond it...
The land had changed.
The black mist that once only existed around the mountains now covered everything beyond the Wall.
The sky had turned slightly red.
The atmosphere itself felt hostile.
The Demons were no longer hiding.
They had entered the war.
Lucian stood silently.
Then an old memory returned.
A memory he had buried.
A memory from childhood.
The assassin.
The sharp pain.
The strange liquid entering his body.
Demonic energy.
He remembered falling.
He remembered screaming.
He remembered the darkness spreading through him.
Then he remembered his mother.
Irwin.
Her tears.
The fear in her eyes.
She had never shown weakness.
Not in front of nobles.
Not in front of soldiers.
But that day...
She cried.
He remembered the strange treatment chamber.
The cold liquid surrounding him.
The pain as the Demonic energy was removed.
And finally...
Opening his eyes.
Seeing his mother's smile.
The happiness on her face when she realized he survived.
Two months after the first Demon appeared.
The Border had completely changed.
Lucian was no longer just a soldier.
He had become the Vice Commander of the Border Army.
The battle had created a new era.
The machine that once saved Lucian was improved by the Dwarven alchemist Jole.
The massive purification device became smaller.
Faster.
More efficient.
Thousands of soldiers infected by Demonic miasma were saved.
But the situation continued worsening.
The offensive operations were abandoned.
The cleansing squads no longer ventured beyond the Wall.
The lands they had purified were corrupted again.
Humanity was no longer advancing.
They were defending.
The Demonic beasts were different now.
They were stronger.
Smarter.
Organized.
Because they were no longer acting alone.
They had commanders.
The Demons.
The other races finally entered the war.
The Elves, who had previously only offered limited assistance, sent their full forces.
The Dwarven Kingdom opened its forges.
Weapons.
Armor.
Artifacts.
Everything was dedicated to the war.
The City of Knowledge, Vlad, and the Dwarven Kingdom joined their efforts.
Researchers searched for weaknesses.
New weapons were created.
New strategies were developed.
Every kingdom redirected its resources.
The search for the remaining members of the Group of the Dark was temporarily abandoned.
The Demons were now the greater threat.
The capital changed as well.
The once colorful city became quieter.
The streets that once overflowed with celebration became filled with soldiers and supplies.
People no longer spoke of festivals.
They spoke of survival.
The war had entered a new phase.
Humanity had killed its first Demon.
But everyone understood the truth.
That Demon was not the end.
It was the beginning.