On the walls of Garos Fortress—

“Naruto!! Watch your back!!”

Kosov roared at the top of his lungs after knocking away an Abyss Demon.

Unfortunately—

His warning never reached his comrade's ears.

The next instant—

“BOOM!!”

Accompanied by an eruption of dark green energy—

Under Kosov's grief-stricken gaze, the soldier who had still been desperately exchanging blows with an Abyss Demon was struck by a dark green beam fired from behind.

After releasing a miserable scream—

His body rapidly corroded away into a puddle of blood.

‘N-Naruto...’

Staring at the horrific scene, Kosov bit through his own lip.

His heart was beginning to go numb.

After the brutal bloodbath, fewer than twenty men remained from the Eighth Legion under his command.

The rest of his comrades had either perished beneath the crimson lasers earlier or died during the savage battle against the Abyss Demons.

No matter how one looked at it—

Watching a legion that had once numbered in the thousands be reduced to only eighteen survivors filled Kosov with immeasurable sorrow.

To him, these soldiers were brothers.

How could he not suffer when he watched them die one after another before his eyes?

Yet what truly drove Kosov into despair wasn't their deaths.

Why had they fought so desperately?

Why had they risked their lives against the Abyss Demons?

To protect the civilians behind them.

To buy time for reinforcements.

To save the doomed Garos Fortress.

But now?

After exhausting every ounce of strength they possessed—

The Eighth Legion had only managed to kill fewer than fifty Abyss Demons.

They had been completely incapable of stopping the endless tide.

At times, it felt like trying to stop a chariot with a praying mantis's arms.

A small portion of the Abyss Demon horde alone had crushed the Eighth Legion into utter defeat.

This wasn't a novel.

Nor was it some fabricated myth.

This was reality.

And in reality—

No matter how strong one's conviction might be, it could not overcome such a hopeless gap in power.

After the legion's collapse, the remaining Abyss Demons charged straight toward the residential district behind them under the soldiers' furious and despairing gazes.

Clearly—

They had failed to protect anything.

Delay the Abyss Demon horde?

Wait for reinforcements?

Yet what exactly had they received?

Reinforcements?

No.

What they received was an ever-increasing number of Abyss Demons—

And the terrifying snow-white giant wolf that plunged everyone into endless despair.

The moment Kosov saw the giant wolf, the final spark of hope within him was swallowed by the blizzard swirling around its body.

He laughed bitterly.

“Heh...”

“Snow Devourer...”

Staring at the Demon King-class existence towering higher than the fortress walls themselves, radiating an aura that looked down upon all living things, Kosov could only force out a bitter smile.

At that moment, he finally understood why the supposedly impregnable defensive barrier had suddenly collapsed.

But so what if he understood?

What difference would it make?

Was he supposed to hope—

Hope °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° for a miracle?

A miracle?!

Wait!!

Suddenly, Kosov's eyes widened.

For a brief instant—

He saw a possibility.

A possibility of turning defeat into victory.

A possibility of defeating a Demon King-class monster.

As he looked toward the colossal white wolf, his peripheral vision caught sight of a crate filled with purple energy stones sitting atop the wall.

That was—

Magic Stones?!

Compressed magical energy sealed within Magic Stones?!

And an entire crate?!

Those should...

Those should be leftovers from maintaining the barrier!

He hadn't expected any to remain!

If he could bring that entire crate close to Snow Devourer and detonate everything at once—

The resulting explosion might be enough to seriously injure it!

And right now—

Snow Devourer's attention appeared completely focused on the interior of the fortress.

It wasn't paying any attention to them.

“Heh...”

The flame of hope reignited in Kosov's eyes.

This—

This was an opportunity.

A once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

The next moment—

Without the slightest hesitation, Kosov unleashed every ounce of Battle Aura within his body.

The speed of a sixth-tier powerhouse exploded forth to its absolute limit.

He transformed into a streak of blue lightning.

Dodging multiple Abyss Demon attacks, he shot upward at incredible speed.

Under the astonished gazes of the remaining soldiers, he rushed onto the wall and hoisted the crate filled with highly concentrated Magic Stones onto his shoulder.

The soldiers froze momentarily.

Then they immediately understood their commander's intentions.

A spark of hope appeared in their despair-filled eyes.

If they could severely wound a Demon King-class Abyss Demon—

Then perhaps their sacrifices would have meaning.

Thinking this—

The remaining eighteen soldiers suddenly released thunderous battle cries.

Gripping their weapons, they charged directly toward the Abyss Demon horde.

It was unquestionably suicide.

But they hoped to draw the monsters' attention away from their commander.

In an instant—

Countless spells, sword techniques, and combat arts crashed into the Abyss Demon army.

Meanwhile—

After noticing what his brothers were doing, tears of gratitude unconsciously formed in Kosov's eyes.

His gaze then hardened with absolute determination.

Carrying the crate of Magic Stones and embracing certain death, he leaped into the air.

A streak of blue light shot toward Snow Devourer's head.

“YOU BEAST!! DON'T LOOK DOWN ON HUMANITY!!!”

Kosov roared furiously.

At that moment, all the Battle Aura within his body compressed toward his heart.

The energy condensed violently.

As more power gathered, his life force rapidly declined.

Clearly—

He intended to use self-detonation to trigger the Magic Stones and amplify the resulting explosion with his own death.

To wound the legendary Demon King-class Abyss Demon—

Kosov was giving everything he had.

The next second—

The blue light carrying all the hopes of the Eighth Legion crashed toward Snow Devourer's head.

“BOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM——!!!!!!!”

Under the hopeful gazes of the surviving soldiers—

A world-shaking explosion erupted.

A scorching wave of energy burst from Kosov's body.

The entire crate of Magic Stones detonated in a chain reaction.

Brilliant pink flames exploded into existence.

Snow Devourer's head was completely engulfed.

Violent pressure waves and overwhelming magical power burst outward.

Hundreds of nearby Abyss Demons were blasted away.

The tremendous shockwave even forced the surviving soldiers of the Eighth Legion to struggle just to remain standing.

Feeling the terrifying power spreading outward—

Watching the magnificent explosion—

The soldiers couldn't help feeling excited.

‘Did... did it work?!’

Were their commander's sacrifice...

And the sacrifices of all their brothers...

Finally worth it?

However—

Reality was often cruel beyond imagination.

These soldiers had never encountered a true Demon King-class existence before.

Including Kosov himself.

All of them had underestimated the horror of such a being.

Courage and conviction could raise a person's power from one hundred to one hundred thirty.

Or perhaps one hundred fifty.

But no matter how courageous someone with a power level of one hundred fifty became—

They still couldn't defeat an existence with a power level of ten thousand.

It was still an ant trying to shake a tree.

Before an absolute difference in strength—

Only cruel reality remained.

As the flames gradually faded—

The tiny spark of hope that had just appeared within the soldiers' hearts was mercilessly crushed.

Because—

When the fire finally cleared—

Forget seriously injuring Snow Devourer.

The enormous white wolf was completely unharmed.

?!!!!

H-How...

How could this be?!

Staring at the scene before them, every surviving soldier of the Eighth Legion fell into profound despair.

It felt as though countless vines had wrapped around them and dragged them into an endless swamp.

The last remnants of their fighting spirit vanished completely.

The next moment—

Without the slightest suspense—

The remaining eighteen soldiers were overwhelmed and torn to pieces by the charging Abyss Demon horde.

Thus—

The Eighth Legion of Garos Fortress.

All 2,000 soldiers.

Killed in action.

As for the giant white wolf—

After taking Kosov's point-blank self-destruction attack—

It merely shook its head in annoyance.

Then it continued staring into the fortress.

‘Mother, where are you...? Wuuuuhhhh~~’