Freya’s POV:

The chaos that once engulfed the battlefield had finally been brought under control.Princess Ariathe Divine Valkyrieherself, stood at the frontlines, fighting side by side withLucius von Starlight the Saint-Sword of Solis, striking down the waves of invading demons with overwhelming power.

The synergy between Aria-sama’sDivine Magicand Lucius-sama’s swordplay was awe-inspiring. Together, they effortlessly decimated the advancing demons that threatened to break our lines.

Their valor reignited the spirits of our knights. Following their lead, the5,000 Braveheart knights and 1000 Sorcerer of Solara Kingdomsurged forward, clashing against a horde of demons whose numbers only grew. The enemy force now comprised approximately5,000 mid-class demons(comparable to C-rank knights),2,800 high-mid-class demons(B-rank), and200 elite demons(A-rank).

But even worse...lurking beyond the battlefieldwere two terrifying presences—Overlord-class demons.

These creatures wereon par with, or perhaps even beyond, the might of the Braveheart Kingdom’s heroes—EX-rank threats. And now,two of themhad appeared. This was no longer a battle—it was a war on the edge of despair.

Even so, Aria-sama and Lucius-sama showedno fear. They pressed forward with unwavering resolve, determined to face the Overlords head-on.

This was my first time seeingPrincess Ariafight. She reminded me ofAmelia, using close-combat Divine Magic. But Aria-sama wielded a massivegolden battle axewith such grace, it seemed weightless in her hands.

That weapon—[Divine Executioner Axe]—was a legendary Braveheart heirloom, a symbol of divine strength forged to slay demons. Each time she swung it, Divine Magic surged through it, eradicating elite demons in a single blow.

She was calm, composed, almost serene amid the storm. Even as she cut throughhundreds of high-level demons, she didn’t break a sweat. Truly, the titleDivine Valkyriewas hers by right.

Beside her,Lucius-sama, a royal hero of the Starlight family, unleashed his power. HisStarlight Swordsmanshipwas unmatched—even more refined than Julius’s. He moved like a beam of light, slicing a path through the demon ranks so that Aria-sama could push forward.

Aria-sama and Lucius-sama followed by the two magi from Solara also helped them on the front lines.Diamantus-samaused his diamond magic to block attacks and also attacked hard.Silvanya-samaused her silver magic to attack in a wide area, making a quick path open.

I glanced atJulius—his eyes were shining with admiration, inspired by his brother’s strength. Fueled by this, he charged ahead with newfound determination.

But this battle was far from over.

To win this war, we would have toslaughter the demon armyand bring down theircommanders—the Overlords.

As the clash dragged on, we began gaining ground. We pushed the demon army back. Hope was flickering again—until theOverlordsbegan theirritual.

They summoned theGate of Gehenna.

It was an omen of catastrophe—a cursed gate that drained the mana from the battlefield, just like during theSolara Academy Incidentand theFinal Dungeon Trial.

From within the blood-red light of the Gate, two monstrous figures emerged—creatures we had once defeated.

Zorx the Apocalypse Inferno, the second-ranked Demon Warlord...Vorx the Labyrinth Lord, the third-ranked Warlord...We had defeated them during theBraveheart Academy’s Final Examwhen the dungeon broke loose.

They were bothS-rank demons, and they had fallen toCain-samaandNaoki-sama. So how were they alive now?

Something was wrong.

Their eyes... werehollow, filled withnothing but darkness. As if their souls were gone. They were shells of their former selves.

Then, the Overlord who summoned themwithdrew from the battlefield, leavingonly one Overlordbehind.

Why?

We didn’t know. But the remaining Overlord... smiled. A grotesque, sinister grin, radiating murderous intent that made our skin crawl.

Even with just one Overlord left, we couldn’t let our guard down.

Suddenly,Cain-samasaw Zorx and Vorx entering the fray—obliterating knights one by one. Rage burned in his eyes.

He released a towering pillar offlame magicinto the sky, roaring like a vengeful god.

Consumed by fury, he marched toward Princess Aria and requested permission to faceZorx alone. She granted it with a nod, and at the same time, orderedPatriarch Blackmoreto confrontVorx.

Cain-sama charged at Zorx like a storm unleashed. He still remembered how Zorx had murderedKaelwith his black flames. And now, those same cursed flames were engulfing our knights again.

Theeastern battlefieldbecame an inferno, and Cain-sama’s wrath turned it into his personal crucible. He wanted to defeat Zorx again—with his own hands.

Meanwhile, I—alongsideJulius,Marius,LeopoldandLuna—was ordered to assistPatriarch Blackmorein taking down Vorx.

It was only the second time I had met him—Naoki-sama’s father.

Naoki had always described him as terrifying. But now that I saw him... I saw someonecalm,wise, and incrediblyreliable.

Despite his age, he cut through demons with nothing butpure swordsmanship and aura. It made sense—he was once one of the kingdom’s greatest heroes in his prime.

Even now, he stood on equal ground withKing Aslan von Braveheart, unlike other heroes whose power had waned with age and divine blessings that now weighed them down.

Patriarch Tetsu now led us into battle againstVorx.

"Facing a Demon Warlord, huh? I think this old man still has what it takes," he said, glancing back at us with a smirk. "Besides... wasn’t it Naoki who beat that demon before? Right, Freya?"

"Yes, that’s right, Patriarch-sama," I replied. "Naoki-sama defeated Vorx with great effort. That demon used powerfulmental attacks."

Tetsu let out a small laugh. "No need to be so stiff. Just call meTetsu. I’m not your family’s patriarch, after all."

"Y-Yes, Tetsu-sama," we all responded in unison.

"Mental attacks, huh?" he mused. "That might be annoying. But from the look of him, he’s just an empty shell now. He’s probably weaker than before. This should be easier."

With that,Tetsu-sama drew his swordand walked toward Vorx with the air of a warrior who’d fought a hundred battles and feared none.

But before we could move,Juliusstepped forward.

He looked troubled.

He made a request to Tetsu-sama—he wanted to break formation... andassist his brother, Lucius-sama, in fighting the Overlord.

Tetsu-sama smiled gently, placing a firm hand on Julius’s shoulder.

"You’d only get in their way, Julius," he said honestly but kindly. "Lucius and Aria-sama are alreadyEX-Rank knights, and they were accompanied by two magi from Solara. Anyone below that level would only slow them down."

Julius looked down, clearly disheartened by those words.

But Tetsu-sama quickly added with a confident grin,"If anyone can help them—it’s me.Tetsu von Blackmore, Patriarch of the Blackmore family. I’ve reachedEX-Rankas well. So let’s finish this demon Vorx quickly... so I can join Aria and Lucius against the Overlord."

His words reignited Julius’s spirit. A sense of hope returned to his face.

MaybeNaoki-samaalready knew his father’s true nature but hid it—or perhaps was just too embarrassed to admit it. But I could clearly feel it now—Tetsu-sama truly loved his son.

Once we were ready, we advanced towardVorx, who had created multiple dungeons and was releasing monsters from within them.

Julius, Marius, Leopold, Luna, and I took on the task of eliminating those monsters, givingTetsu-samaa clear path to confront Vorx directly.

I could feel it—the moment Tetsu-sama drew his sword, a wave ofSupreme-Level Forced Auraexploded outward. The air itself grew heavy under its weight.

And then the battle began—Tetsu-sama vs. Vorx. They exchanged fierce blows, shockwaves shaking the very ground.

...

Patriarch’s POV:

It had been a long time since I’d fought a high-tier demon—especially aDemon Warlordlikeher.

The moment our blades clashed, I realized it—this wasn’t the full-strengthVorxthat Freya described. She had beenrevived incompletely. Her aura was weaker. Fainter than it should be.

With ease, I struck her using[Blackmore Swordsmanship: Mitsugiri (Triple Slash)]—three cutting arcs of aura slicing into her body. She staggered, wounded.

But she didn’t fall.

Instead, her woundsregenerated rapidly. Annoying. Worse yet, she continued creatingdungeons, summoning an endless stream of monsters.

I needed toend this quickly—with a decisive blow.

I powered up my aura, ready to go all in—but Vorx’s fighting style was difficult. She employedinvisible attacks, and her scythe carried devastatingmental strikes. Each swing bombarded my mind, filling it withterrifying illusionsandpainful memories.

Then—she showed me Ayame.

...

Ayame von Blackmore.My beloved wife. The woman I lost when she gave birth toNaoki.

That day shattered me. After her death, my world became a nightmare. Especially becauseNaokiresembled her so much—not just her eyes, but even her playful, teasing nature.

Ayame... she always teased me. She wasn’t afraid of me, even though I was once one of the strongest men in the kingdom.

She’d sneak up on me, provoke me, even once tried topeek at me bathing—just to gather material for some18+ novelshe wanted to publish. She claimed that genre was popular back then.

What a woman. Infuriating, bold, impossible to predict—but I loved her more than anything.

Even as she lay dying, she smiled and told me,"Remarry someday, okay? I want you to be happy..."

She died smiling. That day felt like the end of the world. But I endured it.

Maybe that’s why I’ve always struggled withNaoki. I’ve been hard on him—not because I don’t care, but because hereminds me too much of Ayame. It’s painful. Constantly painful.

But that’s the past. Ayame still lives on—in my heart.

....

That moment remained unchanged—painful, heartbreaking. And now that I knew it was Vorx who dared to manipulate my memories, it only infuriated me more.

"How dare you wear her face... That illusion doesn’t even come close. Ayame was 100 times more beautiful than your pathetic trick!"

With speed doubled from[Kasoseki], I slipped behind her.

With full force, I unleashed[Blackmore Swordsmanship: Dark Aura Sword]—a massive, dark aura blade erupting from my sword, slamming into Vorx from behind.

BOOM!

The blow exploded against her, sending a shockwave that cracked the earth and completely destroyed her body.

The dungeons collapsed. Every summoned monster vanished with her.

We had won.

Cheers erupted around me—Freya, Julius, Marius, Leopold, Luna, and theBlackmore knights. They all shouted in triumph.

But there was no time to waste.

We regrouped and rushed to the frontlines.

I sawCainthere too—his battle already over. Once again, he had defeatedZorx. That stubborn kid never gives up. Strong and relentless.

Cain nodded and joined me as we ran toward the front—toward the place whereAria-sama and Luciusnow faced theOverlord.

What we saw when we arrived...

Was hell.

Hundreds—maybe thousands—of knights were either wounded or already dead.

Diamantus-samaandSilvanya-samalay dying with severe injuries.

OnlyAria-sama and Luciuswere still standing—both gravely injured, barely holding their ground.

The difference in power between them and the Overlord was staggering.

He is a male demon with a very strong killing aura and magic. He looks like a human but has bloodthirsty red eyes, pale skin, black hair, and looks like he is wearing a black nobleman’s clothes. He has two demon horns on his head and a pair of demon wings. He casually flies while eating apples.

He does all that with his surroundings full of blood. Or you could say he controls the blood of our troops, monsters, or even his own comrades’ blood freely. It becomes his defensive magic and offensive magic.

He can casually injure Aria-sama and Lucius without even the slightest wound.

"Wow, there’s a new prey, it seems... Welcome to the end of your lives~" The Overlord Demon said in a mocking tone.

All of our troops trembled in fear seeing the terror from him.

I started to think "Could we really win?"

I clutched the pendant hanging at my neck—a photo ofAyame,Lilia, and our children inside.

"I... can’t fall here. I have to fight too."

I whispered to myself, calling out to Ayame’s memory.

"Ayame... lend me your strength."

And I stepped forward, joining Aria-sama and Lucius.

Behind me, Cain followed silently, eyes burning with resolve.

Now—three heroesandone princess of Braveheartwill face theOverlord.

This... will be ourfinal stand.

...

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by lotustale.com