Ren Kuroda stood alone at the center of the battlefield, a single blade in hand, facing the surging tide of the Kingdom's army as it crashed toward him like a living ocean.
And yet, his expression remained perfectly calm.
With an almost casual motion, he drove his divine blade into the ground before him.
In the next instant—
A terrifying surge of power erupted from his body.
Crimson demonic energy roared upward, forming a massive pillar that pierced the heavens. The sheer density of it distorted the sky itself—dark clouds churned violently, spiraling into a vast vortex overhead.
This wasn't any spell of weather manipulation.
It was simply the natural consequence of power pushed far beyond the limits of the world.
Far in the distance, the Seer of the Black Scripture—an expert in divination rather than combat—attempted to glimpse the outcome of the battle. But the moment her crystal ball activated, cracks spiderwebbed across its surface.
Her face drained of color.
Terror took hold.
At the same time, the Platinum Dragon Lord, watching through his remote-controlled armor, narrowed his eyes. Thousands of kilometers away, his true body stirred, draconic eyes snapping open.
"That level of magic… That is no human. No—no ordinary human could ever possess such power."
A storm howled into existence around Ren. The front lines of the charging army faltered instinctively, their bodies refusing to advance any further.
But hesitation was short-lived.
From the rear, commanders barked furious orders, forcing the soldiers forward once more.
"What are you doing?! It's just one man! We have hundreds of thousands—keep charging!"
They were right.
On paper, they were overwhelmingly superior.
But reality was far crueler.
From the rear lines, two figures—Kazuma and Ryuuji—felt their hearts drop as they watched the familiar scene unfold.
"This is bad… That's the same thing as before," Kazuma muttered, his voice tight.
"Your Majesty, we must retreat!" Ryuuji urged urgently.
But the king, like the nobles commanding the army, refused.
"To retreat before a single man? That would be more than humiliation—it would be the end of the Kingdom's dignity!"
Ryuuji clenched his fists.
"He's about to unleash it… That killing intent—it's like standing in hell itself!"
Only those who had experienced it firsthand could understand.
Even they had barely held on before losing consciousness back then.
Kazuma swallowed hard. "But… we have hundreds of thousands. Even if he's stronger now… he can't possibly knock out more than a few thousand at once, right?"
Ryuuji shook his head grimly.
"That was before. Back then, he wasn't using this level of power."
And then—
As if to prove him right, the battlefield changed forever.
Ren slowly lifted his gaze, his voice echoing across the plains.
"You should consider yourselves lucky. If Shirogane stepped in instead, a single high-tier spell would wipe out every last one of you."
His tone remained almost gentle.
"I may be half-yokai… but I'm still half human. I don't enjoy slaughter on that scale."
He paused.
"So just lie down and sleep."
His eyes glowed faintly.
"Demon King's Pressure—Maximum Output. Full Release."
A suffocating wave of power exploded outward.
Behind Ren, the crimson energy condensed, compressing into a single point—
And then—
It took form.
A massive blood-red gate materialized in the air.
Its surface was carved with the grotesque visage of a horned oni, fangs bared in a silent snarl. Slowly, with a grinding, echoing creak—
The gate began to open.
From within, a clawed arm emerged, gripping the frame.
Then came the roar.
"ROOOOOOAAAAAARRRR—!!!"
A monstrous howl shook the heavens.
A towering oni god pushed its way through the gate—red-haired, clad in demonic armor, with three heads and six arms, each radiating ancient, malevolent power.
It hadn't even fully stepped into the world yet—
And still—
With a single sweep of its gaze and that deafening roar—
The front ranks of the Kingdom's army collapsed.
Tens of thousands dropped instantly, foam spilling from their mouths as they crumpled like wheat before a storm.
Not just the soldiers.
Their horses collapsed too.
Because this pressure—this killing intent—did not discriminate.
Human, beast, or monster—
All were equal before a superior existence.
"That's… the gates of hell…!"
"He's a demon! A real demon! How could humanity ever defeat something like that?!"
Nearly eighty thousand soldiers fell in an instant.
The rear ranks, spared the full brunt due to distance, could still see everything clearly—
The gate.
The oni.
The fallen.
Panic spread like wildfire.
No matter how the officers screamed, discipline shattered.
Weapons clattered to the ground.
Soldiers turned and ran.
But before a supreme yokai—
Fear was the worst possible reaction.
Because fear itself… was nourishment.
The three-headed oni grinned.
It devoured the terror flooding the battlefield—absorbing it greedily, its form growing larger, more solid, more real.
It stepped forward.
Out of the gate.
Fully manifested.
And then it roared again.
A roar of satisfaction.
The sound rolled across the plains—
And the fleeing soldiers collapsed mid-stride.
Eyes rolling back.
Bodies dropping en masse.
The second wave was even worse.
Over a hundred thousand fell.
In total—
Nearly two hundred thousand soldiers now lay unconscious across the battlefield, their bodies carpeting the earth.
Only a scattered few tens of thousands managed to escape beyond the range.
And through it all—
Ren Kuroda had not taken a single step.
He simply stood there.
And an army of hundreds of thousands… was utterly defeated.
"Monster… He's a true monster…!"
—
Three hundred thousand troops.
Defeated by one man.
And not even through direct combat.
Fewer than tens of thousands returned.
When the report first reached the king, he refused to believe it.
But when Ryuuji—the Warrior Captain—personally urged retreat…
The king's legs gave out beneath him.
He collapsed to the ground.
He knew Ryuuji's character. The man was steadfast, never one to exaggerate.
If even he said to retreat—
Then it had to be true.
One man… defeating hundreds of thousands?
It should have been impossible.
And yet—
It had happened.
Before their very eyes.
Even the Empire's soldiers, the Black Scripture lurking in the shadows, and the Platinum Dragon Lord—
All were left utterly speechless.
The Empire's troops were one thing—their understanding simply couldn't grasp such power.
But even the elite of the Black Scripture…
Their arrogance shattered.
The usually overbearing First Seat now trembled, his grip on his spear unsteady.
The others fared no better.
Their skin crawled as the residual magic in the air brushed against them.
As for the Seer—
She had long since collapsed into a trembling heap, hugging herself in terror.
Because she had seen more than the others.
That existence…
Was not something humanity could ever defeat.
Not even at its peak.
And yet—
Not everyone felt fear.
One girl stood apart.
Her mismatched black-and-white eyes remained locked onto Ren.
Her lips curled upward.
Excitement.
"I've decided."
Her voice was calm. Certain.
"I'm going to mate with him… and bear his child."
The words were shocking.
And yet, coming from her, they carried no hint of embarrassment—only cold, clinical intent.
To her, it wasn't desire.
It was purpose.
She sought strength.
Nothing more.
And Ren—his overwhelming power, his human appearance, even his looks—
All made him the perfect candidate.
Without hesitation, she gripped her scythe and dashed forward.
Behind her, the rest of the Black Scripture cursed under their breath.
"Damn it—she's gone rogue again!"
They immediately attempted to retreat—
Activating teleportation magic.
But nothing happened.
They remained exactly where they stood.
Even their rare magical items failed.
"…The space is sealed."
"And not by ordinary means. If even our artifacts don't work… then the enemy is using something on the same level."
Realization dawned.
"They knew we were here from the start…"
Their leader's expression darkened.
There was no escape.
Their only option now—
Was to follow her into battle.
Elsewhere, the Platinum Dragon Lord reached the same conclusion.
But unlike them, he remained calm.
After all, this body was only a remotely controlled armor.
Even if destroyed, his true self would survive.
Still—
That spatial lockdown confirmed something critical.
Ren… was also from YGGDRASIL.
And if that was true—
Then he and Shirogane were allies.
The strongest adventurer of the Kingdom.
The Empire's commander.
And the undead ruler of the Sorcerous Nation—
All on the same side.
The implications were chilling.
This wasn't chaos.
This was coordination.
And intelligence.
Far more dangerous than the reckless players of the past.
"This world…" the Dragon Lord murmured quietly, "…may be facing its greatest catastrophe in centuries."
—
By now, only a handful remained standing on the vast battlefield.
The rest lay scattered like fallen leaves.
With the field cleared of fodder—
The true battle was about to begin.