Fight til the Last Drop

Master Aek just barely manages to defeat Cerberus, the Sin of Greed and his old nemesis from his younger days. He gasps for breath over the lifeless body.

Whoosh!

A purple beam explodes, sending a demon minion flying through the air before it crArshaes to the ground. This is followed by the stiffening of the other demon minions. Then, the Emperor's voice booms.

"Superia! You dare betray me and the demon race?!"

"What the hell is going on...?" Master Ake mutters, his lips barely moving as he glances around, counting the remaining enemies. He estimates there aren't many left. Both the corpses and the bodies of the enchanted demons are frozen stiff, lying scattered across the battlefield, victims of a powerful calming spell. They barely comprehend the situation, unaware that they've reached the final stage.

"Vendecarligione Maximum," the young woman chants over Anya's wound. The bleeding begins to stop, the gash closing seamlessly without a trace of a scar. But she remains unconscious. "Now we just wait for her to wake up."

Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!

Heavy footsteps approach steadily. The demon minions part to make way for their overlord, who strides into the heart of the battlefield after observing the situation from the sidelines for a long time. His eyes glow a bright red from within his helmet, radiating fury. A dark, ominous aura pours out from every pore of his being.

"All you wizards will die here, right now!" The Demon Emperor waves his wand, pointing it towards us as he roars an incantation. A purple beam shoots towards us, aiming to kill one of us. But then, golden and blue beams intercept it, merging into a single mass, creating a powerful gust of wind.

I turn to see the source of the beams – Raymond and Carlos, who had left the field to recover at the hospital with Drogadres. The muscular young dragon sits by the side, casually eating rice balls, seemingly unconcerned by the perilous situation. The three beams collide at a single point, generating numerous smaller gusts of wind. Magical energy erupts like sharp sounding fireworks.

The two of them struggle to withstand the Demon Emperor's immense power, but they appear to be losing ground.

"Expulsimus Maximum!!" I fire a red beam, creating another gust of wind. This time, our opponent flicks his wand, intentionally severing the connecting beam. Now... only three of us remain standing, fighting the Demon Emperor, while the weaker supporters provide cover from behind. I, in my human form, Carlos, and Raymond step forward to confront the iron-helmeted villain fearlessly.

We have become the last hope for the world of Caronia to eradicate this evil.

"Don't let them get near the Overlord!" a demon minion yells, rallying the remaining forces, who roar back with fierce determination. Over a hundred of them charge forward, magical projectiles raining down like a storm. Yet, the wizards do not falter, our hearts united as one. The support forces simultaneously cast spells, creating a powerful protective barrier. The two sides clash once more, but this time, a clear space forms around us and the Demon Emperor, like a gladiatorial arena.

No referee signals the start. The three of us begin to coordinate our attacks, unleashing a barrage of magical projectiles. The Demon Emperor deflects them with all his might, simultaneously casting purple beams. These spells cannot be blocked by normal shields, requiring us to dodge them. Believe me, one grazes a hair on my side, drawing blood. Another nicks Raymond's left cheek, and one tears a chunk out of Carlos's upper shoulder. The speed at which the Dark Emperor casts spells without incantations is demonic. The three of us, the main force now, find ourselves merely on the defensive.

"Let's use our ultimate moves at once!" Carlos grits his teeth against the pain. "The three of us!" We agree, creating defensive barriers to buy time for our incantations. "In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, bestow your pure power to banish this evil... Solus Naota!!"

"Stikelmo!!"

"Expulsimus!!"

.

.

The tips of all three wands glow brightly simultaneously. Then, they chant their finishing spells in unison, channeling their magical power to the tips of their wands.

"Maximum!!"

Whoosh!!!!

Three colored beams shoot towards the Demon Emperor. He casts the life-severing curse. The opponent's power is far greater than the three of us can withstand. Frankly, I don't see any way to win. The two sets of spells collide once more, creating a powerful gust of wind that whips our hair around wildly. The crimson moon in the sky shines down, seemingly amplifying the magical power of everyone as if it will never run out. I clench my teeth, pouring all my energy into trying to defeat the Demon Emperor. My eyelids squeeze shut, my grip tightens on the wand, forcing out every ounce of magical power surging within me.

"Beyond Maximum!!!" I roar, a massive red beam erupting from the tip of my wand, shattering the purple beam and slamming into the Demon Emperor's body. He is sent flying, crashing violently into the Kula Tower, causing some damage.

The three of us drop to our knees almost simultaneously. I revert to my dog form, panting heavily with exhaustion. The remaining demon minions, less than fifty, freeze in shock as their overlord is sent flying, his condition and defeat uncertain.

"Is it over?" I ask before plopping my rear onto the ground, my front legs dangling limply, not quite reaching the ground, which amuses me slightly.

"Not yet," Master Aek's voice says. He walks towards us, his face grim. "That's not enough to easily defeat a Demon Emperor. Especially using Virgo's body, it's even more difficult."

"What do you mean, Master?" Raymond whines. "We practically beat him to a pulp! You're saying he's still not dead?"

"That's right. A Demon Emperor is considered an ancient demon, making them practically immortal. No spell can kill them. Even if they're beaten half to death, they can recover indefinitely," the young man says in a low voice. "Now that there are so few lower-level demons left, quickly finish them off. But if the Demon Emperor returns, we'll have to work together to fight him until he's utterly exhausted. At that moment, I will rip the 'Demon Shadow' out of Virgo's body myself. That's the only way to eliminate the Demon Emperor."

Suddenly, my instincts sense something. The bodies of the demon minions weaken and collapse to the ground simultaneously, like puppets with their strings cut. Everyone is startled by this mysterious event before it becomes clear as black shadows rise from their bodies.

"Dark Arts all originate from the demons within the heart, forming an opposing soul that dominates the mind, leading one astray into the dark arts," Master Ake explains, his brow furrowed. "The Demon Emperor is a soul that has evolved almost to its peak."

The black souls are ripped from the bodies of the demon minions and float towards where the Demon Emperor was flung. This doesn't include the thousands of souls from the defeated demon corpses.

Silence descends. Everyone can sense something even more sinister approaching. The Demon Emperor appears before us unexpectedly, making the wizards jump in surprise. But their shock is brief, and they quickly regain their composure, pointing their wands at him. Now, only he remains of the demon race. No matter how strong he is, he certainly can't handle an entire army.

His clothes are torn, revealing tightly packed muscles beneath his skin and strange black tattoos covering almost every inch of his body, with veins bulging around his strong arms. His helmet is gone, revealing a handsome, clean-shaven face. His eyes are as red as a demon's from the depths of hell, with a small cut bleeding slightly on his cheek.

He raises a finger, wipes away the drop of blood, and brings it to his mouth. "Giving it your all for a single drop of blood? How utterly pointless," he sneers before creating a magic circle above his fist, then adopting a fighting stance. "This is precisely why the dark arts are so feared by you wizards!"

Raymond opens the attack by using a localized enlargement spell on his fists before leaping fearlessly at the Demon Emperor. The first punch is aimed at breaking his neck, but the Demon Emperor easily dodges, a smug grin spreading across his face before he spins in mid-air, his leg pointing skyward, deflecting the punch. He then spins again, using his other leg to deliver a powerful kick to Raymond's neck. With a single strike, Raymond crashes to the ground, instantly unconscious.

"He's drawing on the souls of thousands of demons to amplify his power," Master Ake clenches his fists. "At this rate, we have no chance of winning without the Headmaster."

"Then what should we do!?" I lift a front paw and rub my forehead.

Meanwhile, Anya slowly awakens from her unconsciousness. She sees Sola and Foam Beer watching over her closely. The images before she woke up are blurry, but she remembers the Demon Emperor's voice... no, it was Virgo's voice, her father's. Shadowy images gradually fade from her memory, beyond her control. Her eyes dart around, filled with a strange light.

"Father..." she croaks weakly, startling Sola. The older woman's face is visibly strained, her hand gripping her wand tightly as she looks into Fong Beer's eyes, which hold the eyes of her former lover... whom she still loves.

"He's gone, child..." Sola says, her heart heavy with conflicting emotions, her hand still clasped tightly around her daughter's. "Your father is no longer with us..."

"No... he's still here." Anya doesn't understand why she yearns for her father so intensely. A burning sensation spreads through her body, like a fire raging in her chest. She pulls herself up with a mysterious strength, her eyes fixed on the distant figure of the dark Demon Emperor. Of course, most wizards see him as a monstrous being, but the young girl sees the man who gave her life. She doesn't know where these feelings of connection come from. In her eyes alone, she sees a thin thread connecting her heart and her father's.

"Anya... what's wrong? Your wound has only just healed. Don't get up yet," Fong Beer urges, but Anya walks forward fearlessly, her gaze still locked on the hated enemy of all the wizards of Caronia. Deep within her consciousness, there is no hatred or murderous intent.

She stops beside me, and at this moment, even I... don't understand what she's thinking.

"Anya... have you decided to join the demon race?" the Demon Emperor asks in a low voice, extending his hand towards her. "Come! Come to your father, child!!"

Anya smiles innocently and turns to me, while I'm still debating whether or not to kill the Demon Emperor with all my power...

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To Be Continue Ep.40