The Corrupted marched across the wasteland, several of them carrying a mobile throne on their backs, atop which the Behemoth sat grinning with excitement. Tinitos kept glancing at him, surprised by his calmness.
The spies told us they were still there, Tinitos thought. What sort of idiots stay put while an invasion is coming?
In truth, there wasn't much the defenders could do. Tiberius had already defeated the strongest summoned warrior—nothing would change that outcome. And yet, for some reason, Tinitos had a bad feeling. The Corrupted only kept smiling as they advanced, eager and expectant.
"It'll be a feast! For every summoned warrior they take down, they shall be rewarded!" the Behemoth bellowed joyfully as he stood and stamped on the platform. The Corrupted beneath him felt their spines twist under the weight.
Even in his human form, he still weighs as much as he does in his demonic one, Tinitos thought with a superior smirk.
Then the Fat One stopped so abruptly that even the Behemoth nearly toppled from his platform. Tinitos stepped forward to inspect the disturbance. A demi-human with white fur mottled with red patches and fox-like ears stood before them with her hands raised.
"She's one of the slaves," said one of the Corrupted. Tinitos found her vaguely familiar.
A Corrupted approached her with an axe slung over his shoulder—a Hellseeker, with pitch-black skin and glowing red eyes. He raised the axe and swung it down toward the demi-human. She didn't so much as flinch. With a single swift movement, her fist shattered the axe handle and struck the Corrupted square in the chest, sending him flying.
The group recoiled in shock, eyeing her warily.
Tinitos approached, fixing his gaze on her. Aelith felt a shiver crawl up her spine. She understood now what Loryn meant when he said she was weaker than the Guardian, yet his presence was infinitely more terrifying.
"Who are you?" the Corrupted demanded.
"I am the slave of the summoned Lord Daion," Aelith replied, the disdain in her voice barely hidden as she referred to herself that way. Tinitos's eyes widened in surprise. "I apologise for interrupting your march, but I wished to inform you that Lord Daion is not participating in the battle at the trenches. He is in a location he prepared specifically for his fight."
Aelith tried to sound as solemn as possible, even though she felt like she must sound utterly foolish. Tinitos tilted his head at her, confused.
"He must value you very little if he sends you alone against an army," the creature remarked, wearing a mocking smile.
"Rather, he knows I'll return safely. Besides, we all take risks to win."
The Behemoth let out a booming laugh that echoed painfully inside their skulls.
"Well, almost all of us, hm?" the noble teased. Aelith stared at him, trembling. Every cell in her body—human and corrupted alike—screamed in terror beneath his gaze.
"Perhaps you're overconfident, my lord," she finally said, doing her best to sound steady.
The Behemoth grinned and looked at Tinitos.
"How many Corrupted do you need?" the noble asked.
"Only ten—the ones who will help me carry Daion's corpse and the bodies of his summons," Tinitos replied. The noble nodded, and a group of Corrupted stepped forward.
All right. Ten fewer. Only one hundred and ninety to go, Aelith thought with an irritated sigh.
They began down a different path, separate from the horde.
They'll take three hours to reach the trenches, Aelith calculated. We'll reach the village in two and a half. By the Primordials, let Daion's plan work… and let no one die. She wasn't entirely sure the Primordials would heed the prayer of a mere enslaved demi-human.
They split from the army, whose march resumed amid the Behemoth's laughter.
Aelith guided them for several kilometres. No one spoke. The Corrupted only laughed while Tinitos stared at her without blinking, as if afraid to lose sight of her even for a second.
How did Daion know? Aelith wondered.
'Killing the civilians on the other side demoralises the troops,' he had said.
He claimed it was an unlikely scenario… yet still sent me alone, knowing they might try to kill me.
Eventually, they reached the entrance to a trench—a single straight passage descending metres deep into the wasteland.
An obvious trap for Tinitos, though the Corrupted ignored it and pressed on.
They entered the tunnel. The Corrupted struggled to move within the narrow earthen walls until they descended fully underground, dimly lit by a few torches stuck haphazardly into the dirt.
The Corrupted kept laughing, oblivious, while Aelith began watching every step she took, her eyes fixed on the ground.
"Following this path," Tinitos began, adopting a solemn tone, "we shall encounter that summoned warrior, yes?"
Aelith glanced at him from the corner of her eye, choosing her next words carefully.
"Yes," she replied.
The demon lifted his head and focused on her. Aelith stiffened—not because Tinitos was locking onto her as a target, but because she realised she would have to admit Daion had been right.
Aelith stopped dead, her body beginning to transform. The demon froze in surprise and raised his claws to deliver the first strike—only for Aelith to smirk and leap backwards.
His attack cut through empty air. The demi-human spun and slammed her fist into the wall. The earth trembled, a mechanism clanked into motion—and a violent explosion ripped through the tunnel, engulfing the Corrupted in flames.
Aelith was hurled against the opposite wall, the impact carving a dent into the earth. She lifted her gaze and watched as the bodies of the Corrupted burned; a fleeting smile crossed her lips.
If that was all it took… she began to think with a flicker of optimism—until two Corrupted crawled out from under the debris, charred but alive. And, of course, Tinitos raised his head with a guttural snarl, locking onto her again.
Well… obviously it's never that easy, is it?
Aelith stepped forward, letting her arm fully mutate before smashing her fist into the wall. The ceiling collapsed, burying the Corrupted beneath it—though only for a few precious seconds. Without wasting a moment, she bolted in the opposite direction, praying she could outrun them and ignoring the sharp, throbbing pain the explosion had left in her side.
If they catch me, there's no question… they'll kill me, she told herself as she finally glimpsed sunlight at the end of the tunnel. But hope died instantly: a thunderous crash echoed behind her, followed by a shrill, piercing cry that made her fur stand on end. They were getting closer.
Aelith drew a sharp breath and unleashed everything she had. She couldn't let them reach her. She slammed her foot into the ground and shot forward with explosive force, bursting out of the tunnel several metres above the surface. She twisted mid-air and caught sight of Daion staring up at her with a bewildered expression.
"They're coming!" she shouted from overhead.
Daion looked toward the entrance, raised his arm, and began charging a bolt of lightning.
I thought I told you not to use that power, the Primordial's voice echoed in his mind.
At this point I can't tell whether you're a hallucination or you really have nothing better to do than bust my balls, Daion thought irritably, trying to make sure the god heard him. He could've sworn he heard distant laughter.
When you end up one-armed, don't come crying to me, the voice retorted.
Daion smirked. As if this job didn't come with risks…
The ground trembled. Daion didn't look away; he didn't even blink. And then, with a deafening roar, the earth split apart—the tunnel burst open as Tinitos shot upward, thrashing wildly as he aimed his claws at Aelith.
"There you are, you bitch!" the demon roared.
A chill crawled down Daion's spine at the sight of him completely unhinged, but he didn't hesitate: he fired. The lightning bolt tore through the demon's shoulder, knocking his attack off course just enough for it to miss Aelith instead of cleaving her in half. Tinitos snarled in pain but didn't waste the opportunity; he spun and lashed her with his tail, hurling her to the ground.
Aelith felt her ribs crack. The demon was weaker than the ice guardian… but far faster, and far more adaptable.
The demon landed on all fours while Daion clutched his arm in pain.
"Right then… so you finally showed your face, you bastard," Daion spat, slamming his forearm to jolt feeling back into it before gripping his sword with force. "Let's get this started!"
Tinitos lifted his gaze—and, for a moment, he actually looked shocked. Daion's aura was different. Not only was his gear drastically improved—his entire presence had changed from what Tinitos remembered in the ice dungeon. The demon's eyes widened in disbelief.
Two more Corrupted stumbled out of the tunnel. Daion felt a twist in his gut when he recognised them—a Hellseeker and a Glutton. Both were common variants, but unbearably irritating. At least… they would have been, if he were alone.
Aelith sprang back to her feet and darted straight toward the Glutton. The creature barely managed to turn, raising his massive axe, before Aelith's fist slammed into his gut, lifting him off the ground and shattering the teeth in his stomach maw. Tinitos glanced at her for just a second.
A fatal mistake.
Daion seized the opening. The demon crashed to the ground as something metallic struck his horn. He looked up just in time to see Daion's sword slice through the air, spin, and return cleanly to his hand. A warm sensation trickled down Tinitos's face. Confused, he touched his forehead—when he looked at his palm, there was blood… and on the ground behind him, the tip of his horn.
Aelith saw it happen and allowed herself a faint smile.
The demon stared at Daion, trembling. Daion bared his teeth in a vicious grin before launching forward, appearing right in front of Tinitos in the blink of an eye.
"I told you, didn't I?!" Daion roared, raising his sword. "That I'd get strong enough to cave your bloody face in!"
He brought the blade down in a vertical strike. Tinitos barely managed to duck. Daion stamped the ground, spun, and unleashed a sweeping horizontal slash. This time the demon flapped his wings in desperation, shooting into the sky. Up there, he had total advantage—he knew it, and so did Daion and Loryn.
A thunderous gunshot ripped through the air.
Tinitos felt pure panic seize his spine an instant before his wing exploded in a spray of blood and bone.
A sniper? he thought in terror. Why couldn't I sense their presence?
He searched frantically for the origin of the shot and managed to spot, almost a kilometer away, Loryn's silhouette—completely outside his perception range. He lost stability. Before he could react, Daion hurled his sword. The demon only saw a silver flash before his other wing was sliced clean off.
Tinitos plummeted, letting out a strangled scream, and the final impact came in the form of Daion's punch, which launched him against one of the collapsed houses. Daion breathed heavily as the demon's mutilated wing dropped beside him.
The remaining corrupts witnessed the scene in horror.
Daion gave an uneasy smile.
Damn… I really thought I could kill him with these tricks, he told himself as he watched the demon rise again, foam dripping from his furious mouth.
"Hey, how dare you give me that look?" Daion asked.
Tinitos bared every tooth in a grotesque smile that would probably give Daion nightmares.
"Not bad. Rank D, Rank D," the demon said, beginning to advance. "Seriously, this exceeds every one of my expectations, Daion!" He shouted the summoned one's name. Daion raised his sword, his hands trembling slightly as he focused. The wind shifted direction, as if flowing toward the corrupt. "A summoned one capable of growing so fast will be a problem in the future. Good thing I get to kill you right here and now, where no one will remember you!"
The demon extended his arm forward—a dark vortex emerged from nothing, and from it his sword materialized. Gripping the deformed hilt, he swung the blade with a twisted, unnatural sound.
Daion sighed and stepped forward.
"I see you're excited. Let me tell you something: no matter what you do, you won't break my will—especially because you're dying here," he said, pointing his sword at him.
"Bold words for a summoned brat who just rose a rank and is facing me alone," the corrupt replied.
Daion thought about Loryn. She was about fifteen minutes away at full sprint.
"Who said I'm alone?" Daion asked with a grin.
Tinitos growled and shot forward. Even without wings he was so fast that following him with the naked eye was useless; even with Daion's enhanced senses, keeping up with the corrupt's rhythm was nearly impossible. Still, he managed to predict his movements through sound and instinct.
Daion thrust straight toward the demon's chest. Tinitos deflected it with absurd ease. He stepped forward and struck Daion in the abdomen—but the summoned one planted his feet, absorbed the force, and countered with a punch to the demon's face, making him stagger. Both locked eyes and swung at the same time—their blades collided with a metallic shock that rippled through the air.
Daion felt his legs tremble, but he held his ground, pushing with his sword, noticing how the corrupt slowly began overpowering him. Daion bit back a scream and ducked, letting the demon stumble forward, then quickly slashed upward. The vertical strike carved a clean line across the demon's face and severed his remaining horn.
Aelith lowered her fist in celebration as she smashed the Glutton's face into the ground. For a moment, Daion felt he had control of the battle—a feeling that vanished instantly when the demon's tail wrapped around his neck and, with a twist, flung him through the air.
"Are you serious?!" Daion shouted, trying to stabilize himself mid-air. But the corrupt leaped up and struck him in the spine.
Daion's scream echoed through the battlefield as his entire body went numb. The corrupt grabbed him by the leg and slammed him into the ground. Daion felt his body compress and snap back unnaturally fast.
The demon raised his weapon and pointed it at Daion's contorted face—right between his eyes. With a grin, he thrust downward, sending dirt and blood flying.
"I have to admit, I didn't expect this," the demon began cheerfully. "This feeling of finding a worthy opponent. Not only do you have the perfect personality, you have the precise power needed to fight one-on-one without limits and still keep up." Aelith approached in panic just in time to see the demon had missed by mere centimeters—Daion had moved his head, but now had a deep gash across his shoulder, emitting a reddish smoke. He clenched his teeth to avoid screaming. "Even so, you're just a human. You don't stand a chance against me. But please—keep fighting. I want to see the look on your face when despair hits so I can engrave it in my memory."
The demon's smile twisted with macabre excitement. Aelith tried to rush in, but the Glutton sprang up again and attacked her with his axe. The demihuman rolled across the ground.
The demon lifted his sword again and pointed it at Daion.
"First, I'll slice off your arm. I want to hear you screa—"
The demon froze. His arms contracted, and his sword trembled as if he suddenly couldn't bear its weight.
"What's wrong?" Daion asked, revealing a strained smile. "Legs shaking, old man?"
The corrupt lowered his gaze just in time to see Daion grabbing his leg with the gauntlet. The corrupt's eyes widened in surprise right before he kicked Daion, sending him rolling across the ground—only for Daion to spring back to his feet and take a full punch to the abdomen. He staggered back several steps, wincing in pain.
The corrupt breathed heavily as he advanced again. Daion straightened himself with difficulty, raising his sword. The corrupt stared at him, feeling his eyelids grow heavier.
"Don't think you can claim victory until you see my head rolling on the ground, you son of a bitch," Daion growled. Then a chill ran down his spine.
The Hellseaker appeared, raising its claws. Tinitos almost shouted for it to stop, but before he could, Daion leaped forward—an explosion tore through the ground and sent the legless corrupt flying.
Tinitos watched in shock, then ducked just in time to dodge a bullet. He turned in panic, thinking Loryn had arrived—but there was no way she could have moved that fast. Another bullet struck him in the ankle, forcing him to kneel. He raised his sword and blocked a third shot aimed at the base of his skull.
From beneath the rubble and dirt, several soldiers rose with their rifles loaded, aiming at the three corrupts. Under their feet, the ground lit up with a circle of light, and in the distance, a mortal woman could be seen chanting.
"I warned you," Daion said.
"What?" Tinitos asked, lifting his head.
"Who said I was alone?"
End of Chapter 42