The ruined village lay silent beneath a sky stained with ash. Broken homes leaned against one another like forgotten memories, their walls cracked and their streets buried beneath shattered stone. The smell of smoke still lingered in the air, though no flames remained. Corpses rested where they had fallen—men, women, and children alike—left untouched by time, as if the tragedy had only happened moments ago.
Jessica Brimok slowly stepped forward, her gaze sweeping across the devastation. Every step felt heavier than the last as she looked upon the innocent lives that had been erased.
Her fingers slowly tightened into fists.
"Demons… why did you attack this village?"
A towering demon stepped through the ruined street with dozens more gathering behind him. His crimson eyes narrowed with amusement before a grin spread across his face.
"I am Agrus. Why do we need a reason to attack humans? Aren't we enemies?"
Jessica met his gaze without wavering.
"What did these humans do to you?"
Another demon burst into laughter.
"Humans have always hunted us demons. Isn't it only natural we hunt them back?"
Jessica remained silent for a moment before answering calmly.
"You are right… but every time a human kills a demon, that demon invaded first. Am I wrong?"
Agrus' smile slowly faded.
Jessica pointed toward the corpses scattered throughout the village.
"You couldn't stay in your own playground, so you invaded the realm of the living just to slaughter this village of humans. Not even the children survived."
The sorrow inside her heart transformed into unwavering resolve.
Her fist clenched until her knuckles turned white.
"I will take it upon myself to make sure justice is served for this village."
The heavens answered.
A brilliant white sword descended from the sky, stopping directly before her. Its blade radiated divine brilliance, illuminating the broken village with pure white light.
Jessica reached forward and wrapped her right hand around its hilt.
"You have given me a reason to destroy you morally and rightfully."
The demon army roared before charging together. Jessica pushed off the ground. The earth shattered beneath her feet.
She crossed her sword from right to left before swinging vertically.
A pillar of white light flashed across the battlefield.
The demons standing before her were split cleanly in half before white flames engulfed their bodies.
Within seconds, they crumbled into ash. Without slowing down, Jessica leaped directly into the middle of the army.
Her heel descended like an executioner's axe.
Boom! A demon's skull exploded against the earth. She immediately hurled her sword forward.
The divine blade split apart into countless streaks of white light, weaving through the battlefield before beheading every demon in its path.
Jessica spun around. One punch.
A demon's head exploded and a kick followed instantly.
Another body was launched through a ruined wall. Two demons rushed her together.
Jessica jumped between them, grabbed both heads, and slammed them violently into the ground before flipping backward.
Agrus suddenly appeared beside her. His right leg shot toward her head. Jessica raised her sword just in time.
Clang! The impact echoed through the village.
Her divine sword returned to her hand as Agrus instinctively leaped backward, narrowly avoiding its path. Jessica refused to give him space. She rushed forward.
Agrus frowned.
"Tch."
He crossed both arms before dark energy surrounded his body.
"Demonic Armor."
Jessica's eyes sharpened.
"Retribution Slash."
Her sword descended.
Agrus barely managed to block. Crack. His armor shattered instantly.
The tremendous force blasted him through multiple ruined buildings before he crashed into the remains of a stone house.
The surviving demons roared once more before charging together. Jessica calmly inhaled.
"The Inescapable."
She snapped her fingers. Every remaining demon except Agrus froze in place.
Their bodies refused to obey. Not a single muscle responded. Jessica vanished.
A streak of white light flashed across the battlefield faster than the eye could follow.
When she reappeared…Every demon's head slid from its shoulders.
White flames consumed every corpse until nothing remained but drifting ash.
Jessica appeared several meters away before Agrus.
He lay buried beneath broken rubble behind a collapsed building.
Despite his injuries…He laughed.
Jessica stepped onto his chest. Agrus coughed blood before grinning.
"I have already informed my master. When he arrives… you will pay for what you've done."
Jessica looked down at him without emotion.
"It doesn't matter who you call. I will exact retribution."
Her sword fell.
Agrus died instantly. Silence returned.
Then…The entire realm trembled. The pressure did not descend upon the battlefield alone. It crushed the entire world.
A deep voice echoed from every direction.
"So… you are the one killing my minions, human?"
The voice paused.
"No… you wield the power of a god. It doesn't matter. You will die."
Jessica remained standing.
Although the pressure did not force her to kneel, every breath became heavier beneath its overwhelming weight.
She slowly turned around. A man stood atop the ruined streets.
He possessed long black hair flowing behind him, crimson eyes burning with arrogance, two black wings stretching across the sky, and two crimson horns rising from his forehead. His slim yet athletic frame stood just over six feet tall, radiating an oppressive demonic presence.
Jessica stared directly into his crimson eyes.
"So you are their master…Have you come to pay for their sins?"
The man burst into laughter.
"I, Betelgeuse… paying for sins?"
His laughter abruptly stopped.
His expression became cold.
"You joke a lot."
He vanished. Jessica's instincts screamed. Betelgeuse had already appeared directly before her.
His fist was inches from her face. Jessica instinctively raised her sword.
Boom! The impact blasted her backward across the ruined village.
She flipped several times before landing firmly on both feet.
Betelgeuse smiled.
"You blocked that? Come again."
He disappeared once more. This time he appeared at her left.
Jessica stepped to the right while swinging her blade toward his neck. Betelgeuse casually caught the sword with his left hand.
At the same moment, his right hand reached toward her. Jessica stepped onto his right arm.
Her blade slashed across the hand holding it before she twisted through the air and drove a powerful kick into the back of his neck.
Betelgeuse crashed into the ground. Dust exploded around him.
Several seconds later…He calmly stood back up. He brushed the dirt from his clothes. Then cracked his neck.
"I won't play with you any longer."
His body slowly rose into the sky. He extended his right hand toward Jessica.
"Demonic Palm."
Darkness gathered overhead. A colossal black palm materialized high above the battlefield.
Its crushing pressure descended toward Jessica, flattening the earth beneath it. She gritted her teeth. Then crouched.
"Divine Retribution."
She exploded upward.
Her white blade carved through the enormous palm. A blinding explosion erupted across the heavens. Shockwaves swept through the village, uprooting trees and reducing the remaining buildings to rubble.
Jessica emerged from the smoke. Betelgeuse was already waiting. His foot slammed into her stomach.
Boom! Jessica crashed violently into the ground, coughing blood. Betelgeuse hovered above her.
"I don't get it with you humans. You say an eye for an eye… a tooth for a tooth. Yet you exterminate my kind but when my kind exterminates humans…You all have a problem."
Jessica slowly rose to her feet.
Blood dripped from the corner of her mouth.
She pointed her sword toward him.
"A demon is supposed to stay in hell. They are not meant to escape into the world of the living. That will plunge humanity into chaos, just like your minions did to this village. When a demon escapes hell and enters the world of the living, it is considered an invasion."
She took another step forward.
"So you see…Demons and humans were never meant to exist together under the same conditions."
Her sword remained unwavering.
"You were wrong from the beginning."
Betelgeuse's face twisted with fury.
His demonic aura exploded outward, shattering the earth beneath him.
"I AM NEVER WRONG!"
"I, the perfect demon Betelgeuse, have always been right! You dare say that to me? You shall pay for your disrespect!"
The pressure intensified until it felt as though death itself had descended before Jessica. Every instinct in her body warned her to flee. She didn't. She chose instead to believe in herself…and in the morality she had carried since childhood.
Narrator:
And so Jessica began to change.
Ever since she was young, she had believed justice should always be served for those who were mistreated, while the wicked deserved punishment for their crimes.
She had never once abandoned that conviction.
From the moment she entered this trial, she had begun drawing upon the authority of the gods.
Now…Under the crushing pressure of Betelgeuse…Jessica had finally awakened.
A brilliant white light descended from the heavens.
It enveloped Jessica completely. Her sword shone with a radiance brighter than the sun itself.
Pure white wings expanded from her back.
Her once-brown hair transformed into flowing white silk.
Her eyes opened… They had become golden. For a single breathtaking moment…It was as though Nemesis, the Goddess of Retribution, Vengeance, and Cosmic Balance herself had descended upon the realm.