Levion opened his eyes only to see a living hell surrounding him.

The ground was scorched death black as patches of flame ate away its remnants. Buildings were either piles rubble or completely annihilated as if they never existed. Pieces of mangled flesh, bone and charred bits of what used to be village residents were scattered about.

His face fell as a sudden realization entered his mind.

The village of Tanquai is no more.

Looking back, he checked on his son and Alicia in worry. Luckily, his [Defensive Barrier] did the trick as they were both alive. However, they were both standing there shell-shocked as their minds were unable to understand just what happened. He went over to the two of them and chanted hoping nothing registered for them yet.

"[Hide Presence]"

"[Force Sleep]"

Suddenly, a grey and green translucent light surrounding the two teenagers. Binding closer and closer, it wrapped itself around their bodies. Finally, a "click" sounded as the skill firmly entretched itself on its targets, making them both disappear visually and fall asleep.

"I just need you two to stay there and keep safe while I beat the shit out of this fucking Hero."

After reassured they were as safe as they could get, he turned his eyes back towards the remnants of the village. Embers burned and chewed away at the little bits of the village still remaining. Depressed, he internally mourned the loss of everyone affected.

If only I sensed him sooner... He thought sullenly to himself. 

However, he didn't have much time for pity as a sudden voice resounded.

"Oh, there's a survivor?"

Out of nowhere, a cloaked man suddenly appeared a few dozen feet away from Levion. The man appeared mildly surprised as he gazed upon him. However, that sense of surprise disappeared as he put on an indifferent face and shrugged.

"Guess I have to pick up one extra piece of trash then."

The man grabbed his cloak and threw it off to the side, revealing a whole different wardrobe. Shiny golden armor glittered in the sunlight, matching the polished sheathed sword by his side. His long blonde hair swayed in the breezes that flew by. 

Levion scowled at the sight.

"Arrogant and haughty. Blinded by the brainwashing from your Kingdom. Landon, the [Hero of the Sword], a complete brainless piece of shit." 

Landon's eyebrows perked up in interest as he heard the red-haired Demon's words in front of him.

"Didn't expect you'd know my true identity," He said slightly impressed. "Nevertheless, it doesn't really matter that much since I'll just kill you anyways."

Shrugging his shoulders, he drew out his sword. In one quick swoop, he used [Flash Steps] and exploded through the air while aiming his weapon right at the Demon's neck.

However, things didn't go as expected.

Levion stood there waiting as he saw the [Hero of the Sword] charge right at him. He stretched out his left arm and stopped the incoming sword blade with ease. The air rippled and exploded with energy as the two forces combined.

At the same time, he balled his right fist and thrust it right at Landon's stomach. With another collision of powerful energy, the Hero lurched backwards as a result from the sudden attack and flew right towards a remnant standing wall. Bricks flew everywhere as he crashed right into it.

"What the hell are you."

Landon cursed as he slowly rose from the debris. He didn't expect the red-haired Demon to successfully retaliate, much less punch him like some ragdoll. 

Levion didn't reply and merely started chanting instead.

"[Demonic Axe]"

Suddenly, the air grew dark and ominous as blood-red and black flame tendrils appeared in front of Levion. Hissing and crackling sounded as the tendrils twisted and curled around one another. Finally, a bright red explosion of light shone off as a pitch-black Axe appeared with jagged red lines glowing across its surface.

"That's the [Demonic Axe]...you're the Demon General of Death?!" Landon cried out in wonder.

"So what if I am?"

Grabbing his [Demonic Axe], Levion released his full [Demon Aura]. Shockwaves of immeasurable [Killing Intent], [Pressure], and [Intimidation] streaked across the land as years of experience slaying countless armies expressed itself. The ground cracked as it could barely sustain the unfathomable aura surrounding the former Demon General.

Activating [Flash Steps], he stepped forward and launched himself right at the Hero. He channeled his own power into the axe and aimed to kill.

"Guess I gotta get serious then."

Landon activated his own [Hero Aura] as Levion came charging at him. Channeling his power in his [Hero Sword], he met on Darian's [Demonic Axe] as they both clashed. Rays of energy exploded as the two powerful forces collided, sending shockwaves through the air.

"Why did you annihilate this village?" Levion asked angrily as he pushed down on Landon's sword.

"Why wouldn't I annihilate this village," The Hero replied as he retaliated and pushed Levion away into the air. "Humans and Demons living together? Of course I'm going to destroy such barbarity."

Levion did a backflip and landed right back on his feet. His face scrunched up hearing the Hero's racist comments.

"Barbarity? This village has been living in peace and harmony," he retorted in anger as he powered up his [Demonic Axe]. "The only barbarity is you and your Human Supremacist country's brainwashing as you justify killing hundreds."

"[Sword Slash]"

Landon chanted out another one of his skills. His sword glowed white as power charged within it. In a flash, he swung his weapon, causing an arc of white light to form and rapidly speed towards Levion.

"The only way to free the Humans here from depravity was to kill them. It's you Demons who are wrong for corrupting those Humans." The Hero retorted pointedly.

Levion leaped to the side as the white arc of energy slashed in front of him. The arc exploded as it hit a tree that was already half burnt from earlier.

"If we were wrong in accepting and loving Humans who needed it despite race, then this world's gone to shit!"

Rage burned within him as he started chanting with two arms outstretched.

"[Demonic Hellfire Blast]"

Suddenly, a spherical torrent of black and red flame appeared swirling in front of his hands. The mass expanded and let loose a beam of destruction in Landon's direction.

"[Light Barrier]"

The Hero frantically put up a special defensive barrier in front as the [Demonic Hellfire Blast] came charging right at him. He barely managed to hold off the attack while expending a lot of energy. Letting down his guard for a second, he tried to take a quick breather.

However, Levion didn't let that opportunity go to waste. He followed up on his attack by coming up right to the Hero and punched him square in the face.

BAM

The [Hero of the Sword] took on the clean hit painfully as he flew backwards. Stumbling and rolling on the ground, he took on a lot of damage from that one powerful hit.

"Damn it."

He struggled as he tried to stand back up while being a bit whoozy.

Seeing this opportunity, Levion prepared one last final strike as he activated [Flash Steps], but was soon interrupted by a voice he shouldn't have heard.

"Dad! What's going on?"

Unfortunately for everyone, those words did not go unnoticed by Landon either.

If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

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One moment, Darian was with Alicia picking potatoes. The next moment, he faintly remembered his dad frantically chanting something and a huge explosion. Then, his dad chanted something else as he blacked out.

Now, he currently was in some dark space floating with his thoughts in a jumble. He felt like something unnatural was keeping him in this space.

When he felt a pressure trying to overwhelm him and make him lose himself, he fought against it. He knew something bad was going on outside and wanted to do something about it. While he had his suspicions that his dad cast some spell on him, he still thought he had to do something.

Using all his willpower, he pushed through the pressure and rose up as he tried to escape this black environment. Seeing a faint white dot a bit above him, he continued pushing through and trying to reach that dot. Soon, he arrived at that dot and reached out his hand to touch it.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Conditions for [Spell Resistance] met!

[Spell Resistance] skill acquired! Starting level: [1/20].

[Spell Resistance 1/20] is now intuitively operational.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

His eyes jotted open only to see a scene from hell.

Black scorched earth littered with burnt body parts scattered about. Smoke rose from the few embers that still existed. He quickly realized that something bad has happened to Tanquai village.

BAM

Suddenly hearing a loud sound, he turned his head over to see his dad punch some random guy in the face and send him flying. His brain could barely process all these sudden events happening. With his rationality at low performance, he yelled out words to his dad he would come to regret all his life.

"Dad! What's going on?"

After saying that, a sudden feeling of certain death washed over him. A dreadful emotion that rattled him to the very core. His head reactively turned to face the man his dad just punched when a white bolt of light came shooting right at him.

I'm going to die.

He closed his eyes in torror and braced himself.

However, death did not come as someone suddenly appeared right in front of him.

"NOOOO!!!!"

Darian screamed as he saw his father leap out in front of him and get hit by the white light bolt. The bolt slammed itself inside on the left side of Levion, puncturing his kidney. With a groan, the Demon General clutched the open wound in pain and fell to the ground.

----------------------------------------

Meanwhile, Landon was surprised and happy about the way things turned out. Originally, he felt a bad premonition as the Demon General prepared a move he was sure would at the very least cripple him. However, the General's son suddenly appearing and his quick thinking with [Light Bolt] led him to a fatal strike on the defenseless Demon.

After quickly using [Quick Heal] on himself, he got up and went towards the injured Levion and crying son.

"Took long enough, but finally your annoying ass is down," he laughed mockingly as he raised his sword over the injured Demon. "I'll give you a quick death since I need to hurry back to my wife and girl."

"NOOOO!!"

The Demon's kid tried to shield his Dad's body using his own as he covered it, but that didn't matter much to the Hero. He knew his sword could easily slice through the both of them.

However, a sudden attempted attack out of nowhere put a stop to that.

Feeling intense [Killing Intent], the [Hero of the Sword] frantically raised his sword up and slashed at where he felt an assassin was coming from. Luckily for him, the sword strike hit and sent the assassin flying.

"VALURN!"

He heard the little runt say something as he watched his attempted assassin fly through the air. Tumbling and rolling on the ground, the assassin laid down on the ground as a huge cut in his left leg started bleeding.

Ignoring Levion for now, he decided to end things quick with the assassin for trying such a sneaky trick.

As he got closer, he realized he recognized that assassin.

"So you're the gatekeeping guard."

Laughing, he walked a few feet away from the 'guard.' His face grew to one of disgust as he remembered the disgusting event of having to shake that demon's hand.

Meanwhile, the assassin sat there glaring at him.

"Haha. I would say no hard feelings but I had to shake my hands with you," Landon talked while scrunching up his face. "So yes, this is personal."

Raising up his sword, he prepared to cut down the annoying pest in front of him.

----------------------------------------

Jauvin got up with a groan.

Surrounding him was the tatters of his home burnt and piled up. However, he himself was untouched. His automatic life-preservation magic activated as soon as it recognized his life was in danger.

Damn. Dert's at least a centr'y gone off my life.

He cursed his rotten luck. The whole reason he put up with this village and moved around these parts was to live out his days without fearing any danger. However, with the events unfolding today, clearly that part changed.

Even then, he secretly did like this village. He enjoyed the good food from the Dinner Hall. He enjoyed tilling his small farm in peace and watching people act friendly with one another.

He even had to admit the youth here were fun to watch grow despite him cursing at them all the time.

In one way, he was jealous of their happiness and joy that he no longer had.

...Why have I always such a shitty person around here.

He thought back to his days centuries in the past, when he was considered one of the greatest Demons alive. Revolutionizing the magic world, he was konwn as Demyriak the Great Mage. His magic books and theories were still being studied to this day.

While the rumor he spread said he died testing out some new magic, the reality couldn't be any further from the truth. Simply put, he got old and started getting scared of dying.

For years, he frantically researched ways to prolong one's lifespan. Eating various fruits and trying out random spell combinations on himself, he felt that his endeavor was hopeless.

However, he soon came upon a revelation of using his mana box as life force. Following that plan, he completely gave up magic as he focused his mana well on extending his life.

The idea worked.

He's lived centuries past when he's supposed to die. However, his quality of life worsened. No longer able to do what he loves with magic, he started getting irritable and grumpy. Finally, his bad attitude climaxed when he moved to Tanquai when it was first formed as he lost his sense of purpose. 

Sense of purpose...

Jauvin pondered upon that for a moment. All this time, he's been trying to prolong his lifespan while ignoring just exactly what his purpose and love was. He may as well have thrown himself in prison instead with how crappy he made his life. He dropped his happiness in favor of living long.

BAM

Suddenly, he was thrown back into reality as he witnessed an incredible scene in front of him. He saw Levion get stabbed with a [light bolt] and fall to the ground. He saw Valurn cry out as he tried to assassinate the blonde-haired Hero. He saw Valurn get tossed and the Hero coming up ready to slice him up.

Purpose...

Resolute, Jauvin decided to stop caring about his lifespan and do what he loves one last time.

----------------------------------------

Darian stared in terror as he saw the Hero raise his sword ready to strike Valurn. He was sure there was no happy end in all of this.

However, he would soon be proven wrong about that.

"[Mana Explosion]"

Suddenly, a bunch of shining white balls of energy started clumping together in front of the Hero at a rapid pace. The air hissed and a huge pressure swept over everyone. Soon, the mass of white balls exploded and thrust its energy on the Hero.

BOOM!

The Hero was sent soaring through the air once more like a rocket. He stumbled and tumbled on the ground as he was dealt a huge hit.

However, it didn't end with just that.

"Jauvin?!"

Darian soon noticed the all too familiar beer-bellied blue demon show up. Though what made it unusual was the fact he was literally leviating in the direction towards the Hero.

He continued staring at the insane magic show that followed.

----------------------------------------

Jauvin continued floating to the roughed up Hero. 

"What the hell was that," the Hero yelled out through gritted his teeth. "I've never seen a spell like that!"

He scowled after hearing the Hero.

"Shert yer damned mouth fookin' pig. Yer ain't ever gun' know after destroying muh house."

He closed his eyes as he chanted some more.

"[Mana Blast]"

"[Mana Drain]"

"[Mana Strike]"

Wave after wave of mana attack slammed and exploded into the blonde-haired Hero. Barrages of attacks kept him flying through the air and further denting and ruining his golden armor.

However, after a few more attacks, he felt a sharp pain spike from his mana box. He grunted in pain and scrunched over. 

Goddamn. I'm running out of mana.

He thought frantically about what to do. He knew while the Hero was beat up, he was still plenty able to fight back if he paused for too long.

Suddenly, an idea popped up.

...guess I'll try that.

Stretching out his right hand, he chanted.

"[Freeze Frame]"

Instantly, a bright multi-colored ray of energy shone from Jauvin's hand and flew right at the Hero. The [Hero of the Sword] had little time to react as the light slammed into him. Suddenly, the Hero was stuck in position, unable to move.

"DARIAN! GET YER DAMN KNIFE N' AIM FER DIS BASTURD'S NECK!" He cried out while sweating in concentration. He felt his mana draining out at a fast pace trying to contain the struggling Hero.

In an ironic twist, the youth he despised the most was now the one he trusted the most to do the deed.

----------------------------------------

Darian stood there staring in disbelief. Just the fact that Jauvin was able to use magic was already a huge enough shock. The fact he did so overwhelmingly was just adding oil to the fire.

However, he panicked when he saw him suddenly stagger a bit while clutching his side in pain.

Even so, he watched as the blue-bellied Demon call out another spell. Despite what appeared to be severe pain, he didn't look like he was backing down anytime soon.

And then he watched as Jauvin started yelling for him.

"DARIAN! GET YER DAMN KNIFE N' AIM FER DIS BASTURD'S NECK!"

For a moment, he just stood there in shock. A part of him was scared after seeing the monstrous power the Hero showcased. He was frightened about what would happen if he failed.

"HURRY UP!"

However, he thought back to what had happened. He thought back to how this living hell used to be a bright, wonderful village. He thought about all the people who lived together in harmony. He thought about Faveon and Chloe and all his friends who were likely dead.

He thought about Valurn and how he saved his life by distracting the Hero. He thought about Jauvin who saved Valurn's and everyone's life.

Then, he thought about his dying father.

That was all the push he needed to begin his fated path.

"AHHHHH!!!"

Screaming with tears flying, he activated [Shadow Steps] and ran right towards the Hero.

----------------------------------------

Landon was unable to do anything while stuck in Jauvin's spell. Despite struggling desperately to release himself from it, nothing had worked.

Goddamn! What kind of monster is that freak!

He tried everything. He tried overwhelming the spell with his power. He tried chanting counters. Hell, his [Spell Resistance] was already rushing up a lot of levels as he tried to break free.

Yet he made no progress whatsoever. 

Then, he saw the Demon General's son come at him. He felt a huge premonition of death as he saw the cold-dark look in his eyes.

NO! I can't be done in by a fucking Demon's son no matter how human he looks!

He desperately tried to hurry and break free from the blue-skinned Demon's spell as he saw the kid come closer. 

Once upon a time, he was a proud Hero scaring his countless foes. He stood at the pinnacle of humanity as the strongest in the world. He, the [Hero of the Sword], was the one who frightened his enemies.

Now, he was the one frightened in his most vulnerable state by a mere kid.

"STOP! DON'T KILL ME!"

He desperately tried to appeal. He didn't want to die. He had a wife and girl he loved back home. He was just doing his part of cleaning the trash as a member of the most superior race on Elys. He wasn't supposed to be the one who died a the hands of said trash.

It just wasn't right.

Even so, none of that mattered as the kid in front of him looked at him in pure rage. He watched as the red haired child raised his knife right above his neck and plunged down.

Delilah...Serena...

He thought once last time about his wife and daughter as he felt a sharp hot pain rise from his neck. Regret filled him as he realized he may be leaving those two behind for good. Slowly, the world turned black and cold as he forever lost consciousness.