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Scene shift—

Inside the cave where Madonis and the others were hiding, the sharp sound of shattering glass mixed with liquid splashing onto the floor broke the deathly silence.

One of the Council elders sitting at the edge of the sofa stood up trembling. At his feet, shattered crystal soaked in cold red wine spread slowly across the floor like a dead man's blood.

He'd broken his wine glass right in front of Madonis—a massive breach of etiquette. But this Council elder clearly had bigger concerns right now. Pointing at the youth's figure in the sky on the magic screen, his finger trembled as he stammered:

"W-why does a human possess such overwhelming power? If they actually find us here..."

"Y-yes, exactly."

"Shouldn't we prepare to evacuate..."

He wasn't alone—after witnessing that display, most of the Council elders present felt their resolve wavering.

They'd originally assumed he was just human—no matter how strong, there had to be limits.

But that single strike annihilating thousands of Ancient Heroic Spirits? That was at least High-Tier Satan-Class!

How could a naturally weak human possibly... No, this wasn't the time for such questions.

The opponent's overwhelming strength now stood as undeniable fact before them. The real problem was that if they were discovered, the enemy could obliterate them effortlessly.

It wouldn't be any harder than eating a piece of bread.

"Hehehe, what's the panic?"

Only Madonis himself could maintain composure at this point.

He still held his wine glass steadily, watching the youth raising his massive blade on screen as he laughed darkly.

"Even if they could find us, they'd need to survive the battle first."

"The King of Heroic Spirits, Demon God Chaos who bears the name of Infernal Flames—his Ancient Heroic Spirits are infinite. Even with their bodies damaged, they regenerate within moments. Even if completely annihilated, as long as their souls remain, they can descend upon the world again."

"So what if a human reached Satan-Class? Against an unkillable enemy, even a true Demon Lord would be worn down to death!"

"This battle is still our victory! HAHAHAHA!"

As if already glimpsing victory's dawn, Madonis threw his head back in laughter, his wild, triumphant cackling echoing endlessly through the cave.

❁❁❁❁

Meanwhile, in the arena lounge—

Yuki Nonaka, who'd been watching the battlefield with concern, suddenly stepped forward toward the screen, her eyes widening slightly in shock.

"WAIT, THAT SWORD IN BOKUE'S HAND IS..."

"THE DEMON SWORD BRUNHILD??"

Kurumi, sharing her sister Yuki's Hero Village origins, exclaimed in equal surprise.

She definitely recognized the broad-bladed sword in the youth's hands—it was the very Demon Sword their village had used to seal the evil spirit in the killing stone shrine on the back mountain ten years ago.

"But that sword's been in the village all this time. Why is it suddenly... uh..."

The girl's words trailed off mid-sentence.

Because she'd realized she'd asked a rather foolish question.

Right—with Bokue Keikain's current power, he could reach anywhere in the world with a thought, let alone retrieve something from somewhere.

The only requirement was knowing the location existed.

But the village had never relocated over the years, and the Demon Sword had remained in its original position.

So this wasn't a problem at all.

"So this Demon Sword... whatever—will it work against that King of Heroic Spirits, nya?"

Kuroka tilted her head, rubbing her ear curiously as she asked.

Hearing this, Rias glanced at her sideways.

"Miss Kuroka, haven't you been with Bokue-kun for nearly ten years? Shouldn't you know whether it'll work?"

"Well, I've never seen Bokue use this sword!"

Kuroka immediately bristled.

She could accept criticism about other things, but suggesting she didn't know Bokue well? Absolutely not!

Did they understand the achievement of updating the deepthroat record from fifteen centimeters all the way to twenty-eight??

"It's perfectly normal that Miss Kuroka hasn't seen it—"

Yuki spoke up to mediate.

"—Brunhild was originally the Demon Sword from Kurumi's and my village, used to seal evil spirits until ten years ago. Due to an incident, the evil spirit was released, and through various circumstances, Bokue claimed the Demon Sword."

"However, because of that incident, Bokue left the village in anger, and the Demon Sword remained behind."

"So what exactly does this Demon Sword do..."

"It can cut souls."

Yuki answered definitively.

"I don't know the exact specifics—no one in the village had ever used the Demon Sword before. But during that incident ten years ago, Bokue used it to slay the evil spirit terrorizing the village."

If it could slay evil spirits, naturally it could directly damage souls.

Perfectly logical.

So the next step would be—

"Hey, are you done analyzing yet?? There's more and more of them!"

❁❁❁❁

Scene Shifts to Samudō.

Leohart continued swinging his sword desperately, but compared to minutes ago, the Ancient Heroic Spirits on Samudō's ground could only be described as an endless swarm.

Like cattails covering entire mountainsides.

To survive such dense attacks, he had to increase his force, swinging even more violently.

Each black sword energy released took down at least four or five Ancient Heroic Spirits.

His clearing efficiency had improved, but the strain on his stamina increased proportionally.

In just two short minutes, Leohart's stamina neared depletion, his sword swings visibly slowing.

But he couldn't stop.

Because stopping meant death.

In contrast, a certain someone appeared remarkably leisurely.

Bokue Keikain had been holding the Demon Sword reversed, pointing the tip at his stomach while making adjustments, as if about to perform a "family tradition stabbing" any second.

But you're not even from the Sparda family!

If Leohart had played Devil May Cry, he definitely would've cursed out loud.

"Don't rush. Haven't used this in ages—naturally need time to find the right feel again."

Bokue continued studying the Demon Sword in his hands.

"Besides, I already said if you can't hold on, I'll send you back first. I can handle this alone."

Leohart kept fighting desperately while turning to retort: "Are you kidding?? I'm the current Demon Lord! How could a Demon Lord flee in this situation? And if I leave, who'll notify you when Luka sends word??"

"...Oh, good point."

Bokue paused.

"Then hold on just a bit longer."

"What—"

"Never mind, I'm ready."

Before the young Demon Lord could unleash Northern profanities, Bokue suddenly announced.

He stopped adjusting the blade's angle and simply thrust with both hands.

Squelch!

The massive blade pierced his body, yet no blood spilled. Instead, it seemed to merge into him, sinking in bit by bit until even the hilt disappeared.

"Phew~ Long time no see, Brunhild."

Having absorbed the entire Demon Sword, Bokue straightened up with a light exhale.

"Ready? Then—DUCK YOUR HEAD!"

As his words fell, the youth clasped his hands together again. A full moon appeared on his forehead.

[MAGNETIC FIELD ROTATION—990,000 HORSEPOWER!]

[HELL SWORD!!!]

In an instant, infinite slashes filled the world.

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