Crushing flags and claiming the Villainess

Everyone had a tense expression as they waited inside the bunker for Austin to return.

He has gone out to search for Rhea since the clock was ticking and they didn't have much time left.

It would take only half a day for the ritual to take place, and then they would need to face the strongest General too, someone strong enough to even challenge the current Austin.

"She is an idiot!" Olivia cursed in frustration. She couldn't believe that they brought along such an irresponsible girl to the raid who wandered away on her own and now the whole operation was at risk.

Valerie frowned, not displeased by her cursing. Inwardly, she was intensely angry too; not only was she delaying the mission, she even forced Austin to take a risk and search for her.

"Was she taken captive?" Charlotte wondered aloud, her face contoured with concern.

"Most likely," William agreed, "she might have gone too close to the fort and could have triggered a trap. Otherwise, I couldn't think of any other reasons why she hadn't returned by now."

Austin wouldn't have brought along her if Rhea was actually that kind of person to sate her curiosity and risk the whole operation. Then, naturally, she must have gotten entangled in a situation from which she couldn't escape.

"What we should do now?" Charlotte asked, glancing between Valerie and William.

Valerie remained silent and just when William was about to say that he was going for a lookout, someone barged in.

Valerie instantly approached him, checking his condition first.

"Did you find her?" Asked Charlotte.

"No," Austin exhaled an exasperated sigh, "...she left no trail and I hardly believe she would have escaped back to the mainland. That means she has gotten trapped by the demons."

The atmosphere grew tense at those words. Their last hope of reuniting with Rhea was now also lost.

A brief moment of silence was followed by Olivia's query, "What do we do now?" It wasn't like she wasn't concerned for Rhea. Even though she didn't know her, Rhea was a young girl who came here with the intention to take vengeance for those whom she lost.

However, Olivia prioritized the mission since they might not get another chance to ambush the demonic general.

And Austin's following words aligned with her desire, "We will ambush the fort. Now."

"Wait—what about the girl?" Charlotte asked, sounding concerned even though she barely knew her.

Austin ran his fingers through his hair, clearly frustrated, as he said, "Considering she is trapped there we must not delay. And if we don't find Rhea there we will search for her once we stop the ritual and slaughter the Succubus Queen."

He was concerned for Rhea, true. But he can't risk letting the Elven King awaken, or this would turn messy. And unless Rhea was actually captured by the demons, she would take care of herself, Austin knew.

Everyone exchanged glances before William spoke, "That's right, we shouldn't lose focus on our goal." Resting his hand on Austin's shoulder, he asked, "Take the command and lead us."

Austin gave a brief nod.

....

The group of five had left the shelter not long ago.

Two pairs moved out, and Olivia went alone.

Austin had already given them their roles.

The rain stung like needles, but as S-ranks, they could handle the pain.

Austin wanted to shield Valerie with Scar—but using someone else's Shard was impossible. A basic rule.

"I'm okay," Valerie said, crouched behind a rock.

Austin stared at her for a second… then nodded.

They were close—just a few meters from the fort's entrance.

Austin looked at Olivia. She nodded and stepped out.

Grrr

A demonic hound saw her. It growled low, eyes glowing with caution.

More demons turned, weapons ready.

The hound charged.

But Olivia grinned. Silver light flashed around her fists—her Shard, the twin gauntlets appeared.

She moved. Fast. So fast she blurred.

The hound leapt—

Olivia leapt higher.

She locked her fingers, raised her arms, and brought them down with a roar.

"HAA!"

CRACK

The hound's skull burst.

BOOOOOM

They slammed into the earth. The ground split apart—cracks spreading like lightning. Everything shook.

The explosion echoed through the air, loud enough to alert the entire fort.

Demons turned.

The real fight had begun.

Dozens of demons stormed out, teeth bared, their bodies oozing pure bloodlust.

Olivia grinned wide.

"COME AT ME!"

Just as the first wave neared—

FWOOOSH

A blinding light crashed down, swallowing them whole.

Olivia clicked her tongue and looked up.

A man, glowing like a second sun, descended with his sword raised.

BOOM

Ashes rained down. The entire first wave—gone.

William landed beside her and slashed diagonally.

An orc lunged—only to be split in half before it even roared.

"I had that," Olivia muttered.

She turned back to see a swarm—hundreds of them—rushing at full speed.

William smirked.

"Let's do this like old times."

Olivia slammed her fists together.

"LET'S GO!"

Both tore into opposite flanks.

William shot into the air and hurled his sword like a spear.

WHOOSH—THUNK!

It pierced straight through a chimera's skull.

He landed hard, ducked under a punch, and drove his fingers into a Minotaur's gut.

"URGH!"

The beast's insides burst as William ripped them out.

Without pause, he crouched low, Soul Energy crackling across his body.

BOOM!

He blasted forward, smashing through another giant.

Two elves tried to intercept him—too slow.

William grabbed their faces mid-charge—

CRACK!

He slammed their skulls into the ground, ending them in one brutal motion.

But the monsters kept coming.

William summoned his blade back into his hand—

And the massacre continued.

On the other side, Olivia cracked her neck and surged forward like a bullet.

A lizardman swung its axe—she ducked and snapped its knee backward with one low punch.

Before it screamed, she twisted mid-spin and slammed her elbow into its temple.

CRACK! The skull dented inward.

Behind her, three demons leaped—

She raised her palm.

BOOM!

A sudden gravity push blasted from her hand, slamming it into a wall hard enough to splatter bone and blood.

"Next," she muttered.

A troll charged, twice her size, roaring.

She leaped—and in the air, yanked herself toward its head using a focused gravity pull.

WHAM!

Both her fists crashed into the top of its skull like hammers.

Its legs buckled.

Before it could fall, she flipped and punched downward again—this time with a full body slam assisted by a gravity push.

BOOOOOOM!

The troll's head exploded into the ground like a dropped boulder.

Blood mist rose.

A newt tried to flank her—silent, fast.

She felt it.

Turned sharply and pulled it mid-air with a flick of her finger.

The creature screamed, suspended for half a second—

Enough.

She launched forward and punched through its chest with one hand.

"Don't sneak," she hissed.

Her gauntlet glowed as she spun once and sent the corpse flying into two more behind it—like a wrecking ball of flesh.

They hit the wall so hard that the stone cracked.

Breathing heavily, Olivia stood tall, her gauntlets dripping.

Around her, bodies piled.

More demons hesitated.

She smiled, savage and wide.

"Who's next?"

...

Meanwhile, amidst the chaos outside, Valerie and Austin moved in silence through the shadows.

Every now and then, a demon crossed their path—

Valerie froze them mid-step.

Austin tore through them without a sound.

Their mission was clear: stop the ritual, kill the Succubus Queen if possible, and strike a heavy blow to the demonic army before regrouping.

This wasn't just about the Demon General—it was about carving a gap wide enough to prepare for the final war.

They slipped into the fortress.

Dozens of guards lined the inner walls.

No words were exchanged—just action.

The demons charged.

Valerie darted left. With one sweep of her spear, ice shards exploded out like a storm.

SHHHK!

Three demons were skewered mid-run, their bodies freezing over even before they hit the ground.

Austin raised his plasma gun.

PHWIP! PHWIP!

UGHOH!

GHOUH!

Clean shots—straight through their chests. Each one collapsed with their heart punctured, smoke rising from the scorched wound.

In seconds, the hallway was silent again.

No time to waste.

They kept moving—eyes locked ahead, footsteps quick and precise—closing in on the throne room.

The heart of the fortress awaited.

And something dark pulsed behind that door.

Austin and Valerie paused for a moment, shared a glance, and then nodded.

*KREEAAAK*

The rusty door echoed as Austin pushed them open.

The inside was dark that's why they had to take a few small steps before Austin took out a lantern from the inventory.

"There is no one..." Valerie muttered as she looked around—just then she noticed that her Lord had paused.

His expression worried her. His eyes were slightly stretched and his face became visibly pale.

"There...they are." He pointed towards the throne at the head of the court.

Valerie followed his line of sight and her breath was caught in her throat too.

Leaning against the throne was the familiar woman against whom she fought.

Kneeling beside the throne was a dark-haired elf who extruded a presence that made it impossible to breathe normally.

But neither of them was the reason why Austin looked terrified.

It was the being sitting on the throne; all recovered and grinning.

Astaroth.

"It's been a while, Hero."

°°°°°°°°

A/N:- Someone's about to die. Thanks for reading.