The Goran Kingdom was practically a military state—the former chancellor had even led a military coup to become the king.

The kingdom squeezed the commoners while spending a significant portion of its national budget into military expansion, giving it a surprisingly formidable fighting force despite its small size.

That wasn't all, either. Goran was a kingdom that boasted three Swordmasters, figures considered one-man armies akin to strategic weapons.

The topography of the land their strongholds sat upon was another factor of their power. With numerous naturally advantageous and strategically vital locations, the land itself offered an extreme benefit for defense.

One of the most famous war battles in Tionis history had taken place there, with merely ten thousand soldiers having held off three hundred thousand. It took place at the same fortress where the royal family's subjugation forces were crushed during the military coup.

Yet, all of the Goran Kingdom's advantages were being effectively erased by a single individual.

“According to the current reports, Grand Duke Davey O'Rowane is obliterating everything in his path, starting from the Belkan Canyon and heading toward the capital. They say he’s not just destroying things in passing—he’s wiping the entire region off the map.”

While Goran and Rowane didn’t technically share a border, Davey was all that was needed to handle business.

Emperor Sullivan de Pallan let out a short groan. “It’s probably too late to turn back now.”

“Your Majesty, how will you respond?” his adviser asked.

“To be honest, people are saying that the war started without clear evidence, but Heins must have already secured a substantial amount of proof, even if Grand Duke Davey didn't personally manage to do so.”

Davey wasn’t so reckless as to tear down unrelated parties, no matter how blinded by rage he’d become. In other words, Goran was almost surely the culprit.

“Then...”

“Well, Goran left the International Federation, after all. There’s no need for us to get any more involved,” he coldly declared.

“Understood.”

“Also, spread the word to all the imperial nobility.”

Anyone who saw the state of the Goran Kingdom would come to realize that the power Davey possessed transcended even their wildest imagination.

Once again, the world had been reminded to never mess with Heins.

It felt like Davey held more authority than any emperor himself, given his sway over their decisions, but there was little that could be done. That was just how the international community operated, driven by the logic of power.

The three empires had maintained a fragile peace by keeping one another in check, but the man on the move was clearly a force that destroyed any attempt at balance.

“We should count ourselves lucky that he has no intention of ruling the continent.”

If he were a being who was still slowly growing into power, they might’ve been able to pressure him. Yet, there was nothing they could do against a completely actualized demigod.

Trade sanctions?

Political pressure? 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

None of them was any good in the face of such a man.

Sullivan knew very well that, even if Davey completely lost control and started a war against all of Tionis, or even if most of the continent’s population was wiped out as a result, there’d be no consequences for him.

“Tsk. He probably isn’t comfortable with this, either.”

Davey was the type to avoid unnecessary bloodshed, even if he went mad because someone targeted the Grand Duchess. It was clear the situation wouldn’t be easy for him either.

“What about the other nations?”

“It seems they all share the same stance.”

“I figured. Looks like the Saint of Tionis got his message across.”

* * *

While the Goran royal castle was protected by a powerful magic barrier, it wasn't an impenetrable wall.

Davey’s paradoxically solemn saunter and meticulous scorched-earth policy was both a violent suppression and a foolish act that gave the enemy time, but he didn’t bother rushing. A job worth being done was worth doing right.

Bzzt. Bzzt!

The lightning blade, hundreds of meters long, faded away as the divine spear Longinus returned to its original form.

He walked through the lifeless fortress, his eyes closed in grief.

‘There are probably some among those here who were dragged into this without knowing any better.’

It was a terrible karma, indeed.

“I'll at least guide your souls properly.”

Beyond the devastated space, countless white spirits rose from the dead bodies and then scattered into nothingness. He didn't know what good it’d do, but he continued his work.

There were seven remaining castles and territories on his path to the Goran royal castle. Even if people called him the devil for killing so many, he had no intention of stopping. The enemy tried desperately to halt his savage campaign, but their resistance became meaningless the moment he stopped showing mercy.

Still, he was curious about why they were trying to buy time.

While the Goran Kingdom was famous as a military state, he didn’t think they possessed any special tactics or weapons that could turn the tide of the situation. Still, they were the type of people who’d do anything to survive. That much was backed up by the fact that their nation was a tyrannical monster that trampled human rights without a second thought.

“Ordinary peasants? Did someone drag them all here?” His expression twisted when he saw the people guarding the plains as if preparing for a battle.

[Contractor, please don't break too much. The lower spirits are already giving me a headache with all their wailing over damage to nature.]

Gnoass, the Earth Spirit King, who appeared in the form of a clay doll despite not being formally summoned, solemnly looked at its master.

“Hey, do you think they're hoping to keep me tied up here with this?”

[Most likely. Weren’t you already feeling like they were sacrificing people to buy time? This just confirms it.]

“Yeah.”

He watched them in silence, seeing the fear in their eyes as they gripped crude weapons and stared back at him.

[Are you going to kill them all too?]

“Normally, I would.” As soon as he took a single step, his mana began to overwhelm the surrounding space.

He knew that half-hearted mercy always created openings and led to trouble. He was also aware that Goran would use any means necessary to gain an advantage over him, regardless of international condemnation.

He had to admit that he’d been a little too easygoing up to that point.

“I advanced slowly to crush them thoroughly, so I did expect something like this to happen, but...”

[This kingdom seems to have a tendency to disregard human life too much.]

“Gnoass.” It turned toward Davey as he continued, “Move ahead with the other Spirit Kings. The ones who are trying to run away are going to start showing up soon. Don’t let a single one get away.”

[Does this mean a change of plans?]

“Yeah.”

With Gnoass disappearing almost immediately as if it had been waiting, he slid both hands into his pockets.

“Megalodria, blow up the Beltium Territory to the east. I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

Boom!!

Following his command, the sky behind him tore open, and a colossal black dragon soared into the sky.

The terrified soldiers were confused about whether they should attack the black dragon, but Megalodria completely ignored them and vanished high into the firmament.

Some of them even dropped their weapons in terror. Yet, once the knights who were pressuring them drew their swords and cut down a few deserters to serve as an example, the others began to move toward Davey even while tears streamed down their faces.

The first wave of innocents was an attempt to create a flaw in Davey’s heart, or at least create further controversy and condemnation of his actions.

The leadership’s stance was clear. They didn’t care whether or not the innocent peasants were all wiped out at once. Their intention was to test how he reacted against hostages.

“Listen, you devil who commits massacres!” A man who looked like a general, well aware of their plan, shouted, “Countless lives have already been sacrificed because of your greed! But the proud people of Goran will not submit to your oppression!”

Davey didn’t even dignify it with a response.

“Proud soldiers of the Goran Kingdom! Do not back down from that bloodthirsty monster! If this place falls, our families will be violated by that fiend! We cannot let those who were sacrificed before us die in vain!!”

Davey couldn’t help but let out a bitter laugh, not even wasting any words on such propaganda.

“All forces! Attack!”

Following the general’s shout, the soldiers raised a war cry and charged.

In the end, it was always the lower-ranking people who died because of the greed of those above.

Davey couldn’t help but wonder how many of them were actually involved in the incident—if any of them were involved at all. The same went for the ones he had fought on the way there.

It was a tragic reality. Even though he had said he would wipe them off the map, he had tried his best to not get innocent commoners caught in the crossfire. That was why he hadn’t touched most of the surrounding territories on his way.

However, he was on a battlefield, and the people in front of him were his enemies.

“Hate me all you want. I will bear that karma.”

[9th Circle Transcendental Dark Magic]

[Ultima]

A gigantic black sphere, so dense it sucked in even the surrounding light, floated high into the sky. The sphere swallowed even the sunlight, casting the entire plain into darkness as it absorbed vast amounts of demonic mana and slowly descended.

In the past, it would’ve been difficult for Davey to use, and even if he did manage to do so, it wouldn't have ended well.

Yet, this time, he didn’t stop.

“W-what is that?!”

“Damn it! S-save me!”

Seeing the blue sky instantly turn black, the people trembled in fear and fell into confusion.

However, the apocalyptic black orb struck the ground before they could even get their wits about them.

* * *

Not a single corpse remained.

Davey’s eyes lightly opened, looking at the plain that had been cleanly erased. It was almost as if nothing had ever been there from the beginning.

The one leading the defending force had been a Swordmaster employed by the Goran Kingdom, but not even they could withstand a 9th Circle Dark Magic spell.

“Human affairs are truly complicated,” Jeo-Seung, who sensed the ascent of a huge number of souls, said with an angry face.

However, when he tried to protest to Davey, he couldn’t help but flinch and added, “You seem uneasy.”

“Don’t talk nonsense.” Davey hated how innocent people suffered when all he wanted was to wipe out the ones who deserved it.

“But there was a way to save them,” Jeo-Seung insisted.

“That wasn’t an option. No matter what the blowback of this is, there’s a line that shouldn’t be crossed.”

He couldn’t show any mercy. He had no intention of doing so. That way, such a thing would never happen again.

“A half-hearted warning will only lead to more sacrifices.”

Jeo-Seung countered, “Does that give you the right to take the lives of the innocent?”

“Well, to the dead, I’ll always be a mass murderer no matter what I say.”

It was the same for the vampires and demons he had killed.

“I’ll collect all the souls first. Are you leaving immediately?” Jeo-Seung asked Davey.

“Yeah. I can’t give them any more time.” He began moving once again.

He couldn’t help but wonder how people would perceive him after the end was over. Would they consider him a monster?

Or...