Extra's Path To Demon King

Despite it all, he heaved a sigh of relief, for the war was finally over.

Following his relieved sigh, a resounding declaration reverberated through the ears of every entity standing within or surrounding the area of the battlefield, in both Human and Ghost race camps.

[The War between the Human and Ghost race forces has concluded.]

[The victor of this war is the Unified Army of Humanity]

[By the Racial agreement made between the two races.]

[The Ghost race shall leave the human lands immediately, and never have the authority to exert any influence upon these lands]

[And the Minor Kingdoms’ complete control shall be back in the hands of the Great Kingdoms]

Slowly, this proclamation from the Prime Nexus reached not only seekers entangled in this conflict but also the ears of 3 billion mundane humans.

The 1 billion humans living within the Minor Kingdoms wore twisted, despairing expressions.

But the 2 billion humans on the Great Kingdoms’ side all screamed loud cheers; after all, the Great Kingdoms were not only fighting the Minor Kingdoms but the Ghost race.

Axel saw the blackened 2nd layer of the sky manifested by the High-Lich’s territorial spell slowly being destroyed by a resounding glass-shattering echo.

The invisible barrier surrounding the entire battlefield was dismantled. It was the moment that signified the end of a long, brutal, and vicious war; countless powerhouses of humanity sacrificed their lives to defeat the hateful Ghost race who wanted a permanent foothold on the Human lands.

Despite Humans’ most pathetic status amongst all the races of the continent, humanity still won, through gritted teeth.

And yet.....

In that very instant....

Just as Lucien, Sophia, and Axel were about to glide down to the grounds of the battlefield, a harrowing demonic roar spread throughout the skies.

Grhaaahhahhaah!!!!

That terrifying demon screech paralyzed all three of them for a fraction of a second.

In that small window of time, right in front of Axel’s eyes, the space rippled and twisted; a blood-red giant sword glided through the fabric of space and pierced right through his chest, coming out of his back.

Squelch....

Axel coughed up a mouthful of blood; his eyes were bloodshot; red oozed out from all of his orifices. He was already in the weakest state possible, especially after all that external boost of power was removed from his figure.

But when he saw the face of the one who pierced the sword through his heart, Axel was mortified, for it was the skull-masked demon Osiris.

In that moment of utmost weakness, Axel’s most trusted subordinate, Galagar Gareth, had betrayed the Demon of Despair.

Sophia’s eyes blazed with killing intent as she witnessed this scene, and that stun effect of demonic roar could not hold her back for more than a mere second.

Just as she was about to attack, an irrefutable, divine command rang within her soul, a command from her King: "Valkyrie, you are to fall back to the Human camps and drag back the Prince and Princess with you."

As the divine declaration by the Sun King echoed in her mind, it was as if she lost all control of her body; blood rushed to her eyes, she roared in defiance, mustering every ounce of her willpower, but despite it all, just like every time she protested against that absolute control of the Soul Brand of the summoning, she could not go against it.

Not even in the slightest, not unless she had strength close to the king.

Her rushing figure stopped in mid-track; she turned around and delivered a devastating punch to Lucien’s heart, who was about to go and help Axel.

The Golden Prince was completely caught off guard by this gesture.

Lucien growled like a monster, already understanding that it was his father’s command, "FATHER??"

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING, AXEL SAVED LUMINA, HOW CAN YOU LET HIM DIE????" he screamed in the face of Sophia, knowing his father could hear him loud and clear.

But in response to that, a sharp chop was delivered to the prince’s throat, and he turned unconscious momentarily.

Sophia, holding Lucien’s one arm, spun him like a torpedo, throwing his figure far into the direction of the Human Camps, without much care.

Because Lucien would regain his consciousness within moments.

All the while, Sophia’s expression was twisted, filled with boundless hate. Blood came out of her orifices as she still did not relent in fighting against the complete control held by the Soul Brand.

Meanwhile, within the grounds, enemy undead forces had already been vanquished by Heinz, who led the army, and Lumina, who constantly healed the soldiers—providing them with endless stamina.

But by the end of it, Heinz’s boost of power had run out; he was also extremely weakened afterward, a price for wielding overwhelming power that should not belong to his phase and stage.

Even Lumina could not heal him from this severe weakness.

As the Calamity Warlord stared higher with tired eyes, towards the blackened layer of the sky which had shattered, he saw a scene he never expected to witness even in his wildest of dreams.

He saw Axel falling from the skies, bloodied, with a massive Giantsword pierced right through his chest.

At the same time, the Valkyrie rushed down in their direction.

Before Heinz could even comprehend this inexplicable scene, Sophia abruptly dragged Lumina away towards the camp from amid the army.

The Calamity Warlord shouted at her in rage, unable to believe that the very woman Axel saved in her dying moment was now fleeing while leaving her savior behind.

Heinz at that moment did not realize that the Valkyrie was being controlled by the Sun King.

But Heinz did not have much time to focus on that; rather, he dashed forward towards the spot where Axel was about to fall. Yet to his horror, he was stopped.

By the very soldiers he had been commanding till now, all of whom held onto his arms and shoulders tightly, and due to his weakness, the Calamity Warlord could not overpower the soldiers.

A soldier whispered to Heinz coldly, "I apologize, Commander Heinz, but his majesty the Sun King has ordered us to bring you back to the camp by force if necessary. No one is allowed to help the Nomrad Heir."

Heinz was stunned by the words, until his face twisted into a hideous grimace filled with endless fury, "YOU FUCKING BACKSTABBING MONGRELS....."

"HOW DARE YOU, HOW DARE YOU, HOW DO YOU FUCKING DARE TO DO THIS?"

"THIS BATTLE WAS WON BECAUSE OF AXEL’S EFFORTS."

"BOTH THE PRINCESS AND THE VALKYRIE WOULD HAVE DIED IF NOT FOR HIM."

"LET ME GO, YOU DOGS OF NOBLES."

"LET ME GO, OR I WILL KILL, I’LL KILL EVERY LAST ONE OF YOU, NO MATTER WHAT."

Unaware of the sudden turn of events that took place upon the bloody battlefield.

Most of Humanity smiled on that blissful day, the yellow sun shining brightly upon the distant blue skies,

Not knowing the fact that the momentary happiness of humanity was nothing but a fleeting grace.

A mere prologue to the calamitous event that even the Kings of Humanity could have never dared to think about.

Like the silence before the storm, the fall of the Absolute Runecaster on that day, on that battlefield, was the greatest Prelude to one of the most harrowing disasters in human history, which was... about to unfold.