In exactly three days, as the first rays of sunlight spread across the capital, Nox—still in Kira’s body—rose from his bed and walked toward the window.
He glanced outside, and the first sight that greeted him was that of at least 300,000 demons all standing before a single entity in a black dress, with raven hair and cold, empty eyes.
Nox inhaled a sharp breath as he swept his gaze across the thousands of demons. Not even the alliance of the Cromwells and Vermilions could face an enemy of this magnitude.
’Even with the dragons, we might just buy ourselves time before eventually being obliterated,’ he frowned.
Of course, if he had successfully defeated the Scourge Alpha with the help of the entire dragon army, he was confident they could’ve torn through the demonkind army like paper.
But now... now he was seriously pondering what his master, Eve, was planning.
Could it be that the letter she left behind was just to mislead him? And that she was still a pawn of the Demon Emperor?
He was seriously conflicted. Nox clenched his fist. One thing he was certain of was that he wouldn’t allow this army to reach the west.
’Everything we’ve built would come crumbling down.’ His eyes flashed with determination, and without wasting time, he hurriedly left his room to go join them.
On a distant roof, Number Two watched the demon army below with a sharp gaze. He couldn’t help but feel something was wrong but couldn’t quite wrap his head around it.
’Let’s see... maybe I’m overthinking!’ he shook his head and went back inside.
Meanwhile, Nox arrived before Eve. She wasn’t standing alone—beside her was someone Nox was all too familiar with.
His eyes gleamed, but the excitement dulled just as briefly as it had appeared. The skeletal butler was just as he remembered.
Feeling a gaze on him, Skully glanced over but found no one.
’Weird.’ He shook his head.
Eve, the necromancer, simply regarded him with a cold look before turning to the demonic army and speaking in a booming voice.
There was no morale-boosting speech. It was just a pure, cold command—and none of the demons dared to disobey.
Usually, the demon army was accompanied by noise, chanting, and roars. However, under the command of someone like Eve—who valued silence—other than their footsteps, no demon made a sound.
They all knew what the Crimson-Eyed Demoness was capable of.
The last thing they wanted was to become her minion.
Approximately 300,000 feet matched across the ground toward the west, the demonic banner fluttering high in the air. Blades, horns, and other crude weapons were drawn in anticipation.
At the front were Eve, Skully, and Kira.
Eve was as cold and regal as ever, her hair swaying in the wind as she rode an undead horse that emitted black mist.
The scene was dark and beautiful at the same time.
It was the kind of epic moment artists loved to capture.
Subconsciously, he ingrained the image in his mind, thinking of bringing it to life if they survived this war.
"I noticed you’ve been staring at my mistress for a while. Could it be Kira of the Flaming Rose has a thing for women?"
Suddenly, the skull walking beside him asked.
Nox maintained a calm exterior, even though the side of his lip threatened to twitch. This shameless skeleton was just as he remembered.
"No," Nox replied emotionlessly. "There’s just something so fascinating about her current look."
"Hmph." Skully didn’t clearly buy what Kira was saying.
The demons continued to march.
They didn’t camp. They didn’t eat. All they did was march. It reached a point where Nox wondered if Eve was planning to starve her army even before reaching the west.
Fortunately, he didn’t need to worry about food. The one who would suffer was Kira, but her hunger tolerance was quite high, hence she was as agile as ever.
After another day, Eve raised a single hand.
The army stopped instantly.
They had arrived at the base of a plateau—the border separating the eastern region where the capital was located and the western region. It was the perfect staging ground for a battle.
"Phew, are we finally going to take a rest?"
"Dammit, I’m so famished!"
They whispered in hushed voices, so low only those near them could hear.
But there would be no rest.
Under Nox’s shocked gaze, something strange began to happen.
The earth trembled slightly as black mist slowly slithered across the ground like oil, spreading from beneath Eve’s undead steed. It crept over the terrain silently, unnoticed by most—until it was too late.
The first to fall was a lesser demon at the back.
He choked—eyes bulging as his body spasmed violently before collapsing, foam dripping from his mouth. No one reacted at first... until ten more dropped.
A deep, horrifying choking sound echoed across the plateau as the thick black mist rose from the ground, curling into the mouths, nostrils, and eyes of the soldiers.
"M-Mist?! The mist is killing us!"
But there was no enemy.
Nox was beyond shocked. Before his very eyes, thousands of demons were dying in mere seconds, and they couldn’t even fight the deadly mist.
He slowly shifted his gaze to the source of everything.
Eve sat tall atop her undead horse, unmoving. Her raven hair blew gently in the wind, her face a perfect mask of apathy as she watched her kind fight for their lives.
Thousands of demons dropped to their knees, vomiting blood, their eyes turning white before collapsing like puppets with cut strings.
Even elite generals weren’t spared.
Some tried to resist. Some activated defensive skills.
The mist invaded every pore of their bodies, decaying them from the inside. Flesh melted, bones snapped, wings withered.
Nox stood frozen, unable to mask his expression.
The once-terrifying demonic army... was dead.
All 300,000 were gone in under a minute.