GUARDIAN OF THE END

"Wow…" Jason's mouth was wide open as he saw the massacre happening in front of him.

Issac was the one leading the charge moving so quickly that Jason's gaze could barely catch up to his movements.

If not for his enhanced eyesight, he would have lost track of Issac a long time ago.

The old man was a flurry of lightning as he dashed from one spot to another, killing multiple demons with every blink of Jason's eyes.

Karna wasn't that behind as well.

Duphia's only shepherd held a staff in his hands as he swung it through the lines of the demons.

The coat-wearing man hadn't moved from his spot after killing Astaroth. His eyes were moving throughout the army, looking at his two friends slaughtering numerous demons.

"Since I defeated the strongest one amongst them, I am the winner." The coat-wearing man said before yawning as he kicked Astaroth's head in the army's direction.

"Tsk, you used magic, Amon!" Issac shouted as he appeared directly beside Amon and glared at him. "I am sure that I specified the fact that we could only use kicks and punches."

"I will cut myself some slack considering how you dragged me away for such a small thing," Amon snorted before stretching his arms. "I am gonna go back and continue my sleep."

Amon then vanished from his spot, leaving behind a resigned Issac.

The old man sighed as he almost regretted his decision to bring Amon out.

He had known that the demon they had been facing was just another dummy sent on his death.

Astaroth was just there to gather the information and see the kind of backing Jason had. Astaroth however had died before sending any information or that's what it looked like.

'Risa should be handling the rest.' Issac thought, knowing full well that the real information gatherer was hidden somewhere far away.

He suddenly heard a groan coming from one of the many demons lying on the ground.

He turned out with a purple lightning bolt gleaming in his hand before throwing it at the person.

"Just stay dead."

***

"Hmm, that was an interesting development. To think that I would sew him in such a place after so long." A man standing in the forest outside Duphia muttered before turning his gaze away from the barony.

He was a good 5 kilometers away from the barony yet had seen the entire thing progress. The recent change of events made him wonder what he should do next.

But before he could decide his next move, he sensed someone nearing him and looked back to see a red-head woman behind him.

She was standing on a branch of the tree behind him as her eyes were taking note of his movement.

"Nice to meet you, commander Nero," Risa said with a polite bow as she jumped from her branch to the branch Nero had been perched on.

He had been hidden between the trees yet Risa had easily managed to notice him.

For the first time in a long time, Nero felt a bit uneasy while having another human so close to him.

He kept his expression masked while examining Risa as well. Though she looked just like any other human, he had heard her name before and had been warned about her too.

"You must be the one called Risa. I must say that I have heard quite a lot of good things about you."

"I can't say the same for you. I am surprised you didn't enter Duphia. Guess so many powerful people made you put your tail in between your legs and run away." Risa snorted as she waited for Nero to do something.

However, Nero was a man of careful decisions and had a very high threshold for insults.

He could control his anger perfectly and direct it somewhere else, like the current moment.

"What do you want with me, Lady Risa?" Nero asked with a fake smile on his face as Risa snorted for the second time in a row.

The two exchanged a silent look before she proceeded with what she wanted.

"I am just here to ask what you would like to choose," She said while looking straight into Nero's eyes. "Deal or death?"

"You might be powerful and your healing might be heavenly but do you think that you are strong enough to defeat a demon commander on your own, especially a real one?" Nero asked while raising his eyebrows.

Despite the information he had, Nero believed in what he saw himself.

He could sense that Risa was a strong woman but he had a feeling that she was hiding her powers.

Risa didn't say anything as she moved at the speed of light and placed her index finger on top of Nero's neck.

The demon commander felt a paralyzing sensation spreading throughout his body.

He realized that all of his organs had been paralyzed and that he could no longer move his body.

Nero tried countering it with one of his skills but he had clearly underestimated Risa's powers.

Instead of freeing him from the paralysis, Nero's skill transformed into an offensive skill and damaged his right hand.

He gritted his teeth while glaring at Risa. She had a smirk on her face as she retracted her hand.

Nero felt his body reverting to its original condition as his hand automatically healed.

He rubbed his hand and checked his body condition to make sure nothing was wrong before looking at Risa with seriousness.

"Looks like you live up to your reputation…" He muttered while wondering what would have happened if Risa had decided to kill him.

However, both of them knew that it wasn't possible considering the fact that Nero's death would cause a huge uproar in the demon continent.

He was a commander, someone of a huge rank. His death would make other demons come to Duphia and that was something Risa didn't want.

"You know, I can always try running away since I know you won't kill me," Nero suddenly said while raising his hands in the air.

"Though I don't want to cause a scene, I can always do things worse than death to you," Risa replied with a small smile as Nero sighed.

"Fine…"

Risa nodded appreciatively before resuming her talking.

"So, what was I saying? Ah yes, deal or death?"