Hearing the commotion, Shiho broke free from Makoto's embrace and rushed into the alley.
Finding only one person in the alley, Akemi.
"Sis, what are you doing in here?"
Shiho's gaze swept over her.
Akemi stammered for a long time, her eyes darting away, unable to find a suitable excuse.
Makoto walked up from behind. "I was just about to have a field f*ck with your sister here."
Shiho's pupils shook violently.
Her gaze darted back and forth between Makoto and Akemi seven or eight times. Her jaw nearly dropped to the ground.
'Damn it!'
Even with Akemi's good temper, she couldn't help cursing inwardly.
'This dog of a man couldn't come up with a more normal excuse?'
But since things had come to this, Akemi could only force an 'mm' out from between her teeth.
Shiho's eyes widened even more.
'Could it be that Sis was actually a hidden pervert?'
Makoto put his arms around both sisters' shoulders. "Don't overthink it. Come on, let's have a good fight tonight."
Both sisters simultaneously raised their feet and stomped on Makoto's instep.
…
Roble Holy Kingdom.
The royal capital, once called the 'White Rose', had now become a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood.
Most of the city wall had collapsed. The city gate had been reduced to wood chips. The water in the moat had been dyed a dark red.
Flames had burned half the sky a dark red.
The air was hot. Every breath felt like drinking boiling water.
Holy Queen, Calca Bessarez knelt in a pile of rubble. Her white holy robe was soaked through with blood, impossible to tell if it was hers or someone else's.
Her hands were pressed against the chest of a wounded soldier. A pale golden healing light surged from her palms, slowly stitching together the wound that was deep enough to see bone.
Her lips were trembling, not from fear, but because the mouth she used to chant healing magic hadn't closed for several consecutive hours.
"Your Majesty, run!"
A soldier rushed over to pull her away, but a black arrow pierced his throat.
The soldier's body fell before Calca. Blood bubbles gurgled from his throat.
"Remedios! Are you alright?"
Remedios Custodio... the Holy Kingdom's strongest paladin, the Holy Queen's childhood friend.
She was standing on the steps of the city wall, holding the holy sword Safarlisia in both hands. The blade was stained with black demon blood.
Her armor was shattered. Her helmet was nowhere to be found. Her short black hair was plastered to her forehead and cheeks with blood and sweat.
"Your Majesty, I am here! Please be at ease. I will hold this place!"
Her voice came down from the city wall, hoarse but firm.
Remedios's body fell from the city wall. Above her was a large Demon waving a huge fist, its body wreathed in flames.
One of Demiurge's three Demon Generals, Wrath!
The Wrath Demon General's body was like a moving hill. Every step it took left a burning footprint on the stone pavement.
It had wings on its back. Its body was wrapped in crimson flames. Its dark yellow eyes looked down from the city wall at the remnants of the Holy Kingdom's army, like a butcher looking at a flock of sheep waiting to be slaughtered.
Remedios crawled out of the rubble and spat out a mouthful of bloody saliva.
The holy sword Safarlisia was still in her hand. She gritted her teeth, tightened her grip on the handle, and charged at the Wrath Demon General.
The blade struck the Wrath Demon General's arm, producing a crisp metallic clang.
The next moment, Safarlisia broke. Half of the blade flipped several times in the air and landed with a clang at Calca's feet.
The Wrath Demon General reached out, grabbed the Holy Queen by the neck like catching a chick, lifted her off the ground, and sneered, "Found a nice weapon!"
The Holy Queen closed her eyes in terror.
At the critical moment... a black shadow fell from the sky.
A shark made of water, its size comparable to a skyscraper.
The water shark fell from the sky and slammed into the Wrath Demon General's burning body.
Boom!!!
Water and fire collided, producing a deafening roar. Thick water vapor exploded from the point of impact like a mushroom cloud.
The Wrath Demon General grunted, released the Holy Queen, flapped his wings, and retreated. Most of the flames on his body were extinguished. White steam rose from his dark red skin.
"Who goes there?"
Demiurge, directing the many Demons from the rear, narrowed his eyes behind his mask.
Behind him were the Three Demon Generals and a Demon Army numbering in the thousands. His gaze passed through the still-churning water vapor and landed on the figure at the end of the street.
Beam walked out of the water vapor.
His shark face wore a signature grin, the corners of his mouth split to his ears, revealing a mouth full of sharp fangs.
Samehada was on his shoulder. The bandages on the blade had been removed, revealing the dark blue blade covered in barbs underneath.
Behind him, the Nishikawa Grand Alliance army surged out from the end of the street.
"Beam." Demiurge muttered to himself.
The Sorcerer Kingdom had investigated the people around Makoto.
Beam was one of the key figures of interest... one of Makoto's strongest subordinates, skilled in water magic, with impressive performance in close combat as well.
His race was Devil. He could continuously regenerate in battle by drinking blood.
Demiurge didn't think his own men could defeat him.
"Jaldabaoth-sama, I'll go kill him!"
The Wrath Demon General's voice came from behind, carrying shameful anger.
The flames on his body reignited, distorting the surrounding air with heat.
Demiurge raised his hand to signal the Wrath Demon General not to act rashly.
The Wrath Demon General had no choice but to shut his mouth, but his dark yellow eyes were still spitting fire.
Demiurge floated down from the city wall, landed before Beam, gave a slight bow, placed his right hand over his chest, and performed a standard noble's salute.
"I am Jaldabaoth, come to bring death and fear to this country."
"I didn't expect the Nishikawa Grand Alliance's reinforcements to arrive so quickly. It's very strange. I clearly blocked all the routes from the Holy Kingdom to Belzerg."
He tilted his head, narrowing his eyes behind his mask, looking Beam up and down.
Beam grinned, revealing his sharp shark teeth. "There are many things you don't know."
Demiurge spread his hands, palms up, in a 'go ahead' gesture.
"So, what does Lord Nishikawa's beloved general, Mr. Beam, plan to do next?"
His tone carried a hint of mockery. "Drive us away? Occupy the Holy Kingdom?"
Beam raised his finger and shook it. "Chainsaw-sama isn't interested in this tiny little country."
He took Samehada off his shoulder and stabbed the tip of the blade into the ground. "I just wanted to see how strong the Sorcerer King's core subordinates are. Compared to me, Chainsaw-sama's favorite general, who is stronger?"
The Holy Queen, Calca Bessarez, who had narrowly escaped death, looked up from the rubble. Her holy robe was covered in bullet holes and burn marks. "The Sorcerer King's... subordinate?"
Her gaze shifted to Demiurge, the Demon calling himself 'Jaldabaoth'.
She had thought he was an independent Demon. Now he was one of the Sorcerer King's subordinates instead?
Demiurge's expression changed behind his mask.
"Mr. Beam, are you perhaps mistaken?"
His voice carried a hint of deliberate confusion. "I am the Hell Demon Jaldabaoth. I have no connection whatsoever with the Sorcerer Kingdom."
Beam stabbed Samehada into the ground and quickly formed hand seals.
"Keep pretending if you want. I don't care anyway."
As his voice trailed off, Beam shouted, "Water Release: Great Exploding Water Colliding Wave!"
His mouth opened. Water surged from the depths of his throat.
Not a water column, but a tsunami!
Tens of thousands of tons of water gushed from Beam's mouth, spreading across the ruined streets, flooding the burning buildings, swallowing the low-level Demons that couldn't escape.
The water slammed into the city wall with a thunderous crash. The entire city trembled in the water.
Demiurge spread his bat-like wings and flew into the air.
Behind him, the fire-type Demons also flapped their wings and took to the sky.
Those low-level Demons without the ability to fly were caught in the seawater, tumbling, struggling, sinking in the waves. Bubbles rose from the water's surface, one string after another, and soon fell silent.
Demiurge hovered in the air, looking down at Beam standing on the water.
Veins were already jumping under the skin of his face behind the mask. The polite pretense was peeling away bit by bit. "It seems you really want to die."
Beam looked up at Demiurge, his signature grin still on his lips. "Feel like having a real fight now?"
Demiurge took a deep breath to calm his emotions. "Since you insist, then I, Jaldabaoth, have no choice but to respond."
Although he felt this plan was probably going to end in failure, the performance still had to be played out.
With that, Demiurge let out a low shout: "Demon's Aspect: Greedy Magician!"
His right arm, from shoulder to fingertip, suddenly expanded more than tenfold.
It took on a strange, dark black luster. It was no longer a human arm. It was a true Demon's arm.
Demiurge swooped down, swinging that enormous Demon arm at Beam.
Beam didn't use Samehada. Instead, he turned sideways and swung his right leg from behind. His heel, carrying a howling sound that tore through the air, met Demiurge's fist.
"Fish-Man Karate: 70,000 Tile Roundhouse Kick!"
Fist and foot collided.
Boom!!!
A visible shockwave exploded from the point of impact, pushing all the floating wood fragments and corpses on the water far away.
A huge depression exploded on the water's surface, revealing the flooded street and broken stone slabs below.
Beam's body slid over a dozen meters on the water, his soles carving two white trails on the water's surface.
Demiurge's body tumbled twice in the air. His wings flapped once, steadying himself.
The two simultaneously stopped their close-quarters attacks, retreated simultaneously, and raised their hands simultaneously.
"Hellfire!"
Demiurge waved his hand. Crimson flames surged from his palm, blotting out the sky, burning half the heavens into a sea of fire.
Beam slapped his hands on the water, sending up splashes. "Water Release: Food Chain Eater!"
Tens of thousands of sharks burst through the waves, each one made of water compressed to the extreme, their open mouths filled with dense, tiny teeth.
They shot toward the sky, facing that sea of fire, mouths open.
Fire and water!
Demon and shark!
The two forces collided in mid-air, producing a dull, thunderous roar.
The flames were swallowed by the sharks. The sharks were evaporated by the flames.
Steam filled the air, shrouding the entire city in a blanket of white mist.