Chapter 1175: The Demon: Close

"Just... who is this creature?" the demigod muttered, his deep voice carrying both awe and fear.

He could sense it clearly—this being before him was only a fourth-stage monster, yet the destruction around him defied reason.

"The Blood Lightning Monster..." one of the Freedom Realm demons whispered, the name trembling on his lips.

"Even a peak fifth-stage monster would’ve been crushed by these restrictions," another added, his tone shaking. "But look at him—his body is brimming with dozens of forbidden spells, all active at once! His speed, his strength, his energy, his very flesh..."

He swallowed hard, dread filling his voice.

"Everything about him is being pushed beyond its limits!"

Even for Freedom Realm experts, the sight before them was horrifying.

To casually wield multiple forbidden spells—each one capable of warping reality—was something far beyond the reach of even the greatest Archmages.

The air trembled from the pressure. The sheer number of active spells swirling around Souta was staggering, almost impossible to comprehend.

"D-Don’t tell me..." the demon demigod’s eyes widened, his voice trembling. "He’s... the Thousand Spell!"

The name echoed through the chamber like a curse.

The three demons watched as Souta slowly rose from the rubble. His figure was wreathed in crackling blood-red lightning, dark shadows coiling around his body like living armor. His gaze locked onto them—cold, merciless, and hungry for blood.

The demon demigod’s expression hardened.

Impossible.

How could a mere fourth-stage monster be the Thousand Spell?

Legends spoke of the Grimoire of Spell—a mythical relic said to hold every spell ever created. If a new spell was born, it would appear within its pages. To possess it was to command the totality of magic itself.

And now... this monster before them moved as if he carried that impossible power within his veins.

The demigod clenched his fists, his voice booming across the trembling stronghold.

"All forces—prepare yourselves!" he roared. "We will eliminate the intruder!"

The walls pulsed with powerful runes. The ground split as countless wings and claws unfolded from the shadows.

At the same time, three more powerful demons erupted from the depths of the stronghold. Their aura distorted the air itself—beings who wouldn’t hold back, not against a monster like him.

The entire stronghold trembled as their combined power surged outward, shaking the floating land to its very core.

...

Meanwhile, chaos reigned across Bear Paw Valley.

The once quiet land was now drowning in terror.

From below, the floating landmass—a colossal fortress suspended in the sky—was blazing with chaotic light. Each explosion that echoed from within tore the clouds apart, raining shockwaves over the valley.

"W-What is that?!" someone shouted.

Even the strongest expert in Bear Paw Valley, a mere First Shackle Realm cultivator, stood frozen. His trembling gaze followed the distant silhouettes flying around the floating land.

"D-Demons...!!"

The word alone spread like wildfire.

Gasps, screams, and panic followed as realization dawned. The Demons—creatures of terror that once drowned entire nations in blood—were here.

The shadow cast by the floating land covered everything. Even miles away, people could see the vast structure hovering above, its edges flickering with unnatural energy.

For the first time in centuries, mortals felt what it meant to be powerless beneath the wrath of higher beings.

Far beyond Bear Paw Valley, a General from the nearby Large Country, ten thousand kilometers away, stood atop his citadel and looked to the horizon.

Even from such distance, the phenomenon was visible—a giant fortress in the clouds, glowing like a dying star.

"Impossible..." he muttered. "That distance... and I can still see it..."

The air shuddered.

Boom—!!

A pillar of blinding energy erupted from the floating land, piercing both sky and earth. The surge was so immense that it bent the light itself, splitting the clouds into a spiral storm around it.

All across the continent, experts rose into the sky, gazing at the same scene with grim faces.

None of them knew what was truly happening within that fortress.

The earth quaked.

People screamed as waves of energy rippled through the ground, cracking the soil and toppling ancient stone walls. Dust clouds rolled across the valley as if the heavens themselves were trembling.

In the middle of Bear Paw Valley, farmers, merchants, and wanderers all stopped in their tracks. Their gazes were fixed upward—toward the monstrous island in the sky that blotted out the sun.

"Run! Run!!" someone shouted.

A mother pulled her child close as debris from the nearby cliffs rained down. Horses neighed wildly, carriages overturned, and entire caravans scattered in panic.

The air shimmered. A deafening boom echoed, followed by a streak of crimson lightning that tore through the floating land’s edge. The resulting shockwave flattened trees and sent a wave of dust cascading across the plains.

"What in the world... who’s fighting up there?!" a young adventurer gasped, clutching his trembling sword.

The valley glowed faintly from the reflection of magic light above. Every explosion painted the ground in alternating hues of red and blue. Even the rivers vibrated, rippling from the force of unseen spells colliding high above.

...

Inside the Demon Stronghold.

Souta was surrounded.

Five powerful demons closed in on him, their auras shaking the massive fortress from within, while dozens of lower-ranked demons hovered at the edges—pouring energy, casting barriers, and feeding power to their superiors.

Boom!! Boom!!

Souta’s body slammed through multiple rune-etched walls. Each impact triggered bursts of light as the runes flared violently, releasing shockwaves that struck him from all sides.

Every inch of this fortress was alive—an enormous killing machine designed to break intruders.

Gritting his teeth, Souta steadied his footing amid the storm of power. His perception spread through the layers of the stronghold—

and his blood ran cold.

The portal was activating.

A pulse of energy rippled through the air, distant yet unmistakable. Alice was at the center of it.

"Damn it..." Souta muttered, his voice low, trembling with rage.

The five demons pressed harder, sensing his distraction. Their weapons clashed against his scythe and sword in blinding arcs of light.

And then—two more overwhelming presences entered his perception.

Two more demons of the same level.

The air itself seemed to tighten around him.

"Thousand Spell! Die!!"

The demon demigod roared. His fist didn’t even make contact—he simply punched the air.

The result was apocalyptic.

A violent force detonated forward, and from it, purple lightning burst in all directions. It spread like a living net across tens of kilometers, vaporizing everything in its path. Floors collapsed. Ceilings shattered. The entire upper level disintegrated into dust.

The very air screamed.

Souta crossed his weapons—vajra sword in one hand, scythe in the other—and lightning of his own exploded outward.

Blood-red bolts clashed against violet storms, tearing reality between them.

Boom!!

The collision sent waves of destruction ripping through the stronghold. Shadows and debris twisted violently, and the demonic runes flickered as if struggling to contain the chaos.

Souta’s figure pierced through the net of purple lightning, his Archetype blazing with full power. His body crackled like a storm incarnate—each breath a surge of fury, each step burning through the suppression of the fortress.

He raised his gaze, eyes glowing with bloody light.

Boom!!

Souta was thrown backward, crashing through a wall of runes that blazed like molten lines across the stone. Dust and debris swirled as he steadied himself midair, lightning crackling around his frame.

He glanced at the system window flickering before his eyes.

The quest reward...

The countless kills he had racked up so far...

’Just a little bit more...’

Souta flipped his hand, summoning a single random card from his inventory. It spun in his palm like a shard of light.

Without hesitation, he activated it. His figure blurred through the air, weaving between the strikes of the surrounding demons.

He was surrounded—but not afraid.

He knew he could win.

The problem wasn’t if he could defeat them.

It was when.

Time was his true enemy.

...

From the rear, two powerful demons stepped forward. Their voices rumbled like thunder as they raised their hands high.

A massive magic circle flared to life behind them, so large it filled the entire chamber. The pressure that followed felt like the world itself was holding its breath.

[Silencing World]!!

A forbidden spell—one meant to freeze the battlefield, to deny magic, motion, and breath itself.

In an instant, Souta felt it.

The air grew dense.

Space itself locked around him, as though invisible chains had wrapped his limbs.

His body froze midair.

Even the flow of energy stuttered.

For a brief heartbeat, silence consumed the world.

Then—

"Not enough!!"

His voice shattered the stillness.

The demons’ eyes widened as blood-colored lightning surged from every pore of Souta’s body. His grip tightened around his scythe, and the weapon howled in resonance.

He swung.

Bang!!

The strike didn’t just slice air—it ripped through space.

A massive spatial rift tore open in front of him, twisting reality itself. The shockwave obliterated the remnants of the spell, and the demonic fortress trembled as if the heavens had split apart.

Energy spiraled outward like a crimson storm.

And at the center of it all, Souta stood—

bleeding, furious, unstoppable.

BOOM!!

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