Meanwhile, in a corner of the scorched earth that was once a lush forest at the borders of the Moon Demon Territory, smoldering mud suddenly stirred.
From within the charred soil, a piece of metal emerged, and gradually sprouted limbs until it became a complete person, shedding its metallic sheen only then.
Gold stumbled onto the scorched ground, coughing while surveying his surroundings, his face filled with a mix of relief and fear.
"Thank goodness, thank goodness I burrowed underground."
Had he not decisively turned into metal and buried himself, he would have ended up like those angels, incinerated to ashes by the magic of countless Great Legendary Mages, becoming part of this desolate terrain, wouldn't he?
"That damn Enchanting Demon, wasn't she cursed?"
As Gold's heart raced with lingering fear, he couldn't help but curse aloud.
Remembering the shadow he had seen at that moment, and thinking back to her exceptional beauty, although Gold felt his heart stir, his heart also surged with waves of hatred.
"Indeed, all these demons are nothing but disasters."
Gold allowed the hatred in his heart to dominate his emotions.
At least, Gold, who knew the capabilities of that Enchanting Demon, did not want to find himself enamored with the witch. It would be best if he could purge it with hatred.
Even if, in the past, he had been a follower under that Enchanting Demon's skirt.
"But no matter what, it's a fact that the Enchanting Demon has recovered. I'm sure the leader has already ordered everyone in the organization to withdraw by now?"
Gold pondered coolly.
"Since that's the case, I need to hurry up and leave this place too."
With that in mind, Gold shakily stood up.
Completely unaware that behind him, unknown to him, two people had appeared.
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The next second, one of the figures that had appeared behind Gold extended a leg and kicked him hard in the back.
Caught completely off guard, Gold was kicked to the ground, slamming hard into the scorched earth.
But he quickly regained his senses and, as he fell, an astonishing Magic Power surged through his body.
"Granting·Confinement."
Following a fluctuation of Magic Power, the burgeoning Magic Power within Gold abruptly stalled, locked in place within his body, unable to be called upon any further.
Startled, Gold attempted to react, but another kick came flying in.
With a dull sound, Gold's abdomen took another heavy blow, flipping him over.
Severe pain flooded Gold's mind, turning his muffled groans into screams of agony.
Then, the sinful footprint that had brought Gold this low caught his eye, pressed against his face.
Such humiliation ignited a blazing fury and murderous intent in Gold, a top-ranked Great Legendary fighter.
At that moment, a voice that was half-mocking and half-smiling reached Gold's ears.
"It looks like you managed to escape the ordeal just now, hard to say if you're lucky or unlucky."
With words steeped in mockery, Gold strained to see the owner of the shoe on his face.
One, a youth looking down at him with amusement, the sole of his shoe pressing on Gold's face.
Another, a supremely beautiful witch gazing down thoughtfully.
Who else could it be but Shane and Chafne?
Gold's expression drastically changed.
In contrast, Shane and Chafne looked at the rugged demon man before them with a smirk on their faces.
"I was wondering who it could be, turns out it's you, the traitor."
Chafne recognized Gold, and her breathtakingly beautiful face showed a lack of interest.
That expression only provoked Gold further.
"I am not a traitor!" Gold roared, "You're the traitors, those who grovel before the Divine Race and Human Race!"
"Yo, quite the passionate youth," Shane raised his eyebrows, clicking his tongue as if in wonder, "It seems like all of those from the Old Demon Clan Faction should be ; this is my first time seeing one, quite astonishing indeed."
"There's nothing astonishing about it," Chafne replied, still looking uninterested, "In fact, those who truly resent the Demon Clan's surrender are in the minority, most of those so-called Old Demon Clan Faction are just garbage, using the will of the Demon King as an excuse while doing whatever benefits themselves."
Including the leader of the Primordial Demon, it now seems that their true goal was never to create a second Demon King but to turn themselves into a complete demon.
Parren, who followed that Half-demon, was the same, claiming to follow the will of the Demon King and not submit, but in reality, he did so to climb the ranks by following that Half-demon.
In such circumstances, a pure firebrand like Gold was truly a minority.
"What's this guy's story?"
Shane asked Chafne curiously.
"Him?" Chafne nonchalantly replied, "A former Demon Clan Officer who served Camina, but defected a thousand years ago, disappearing without a trace. Now, it seems he has joined the force known as the Primordial Demon."
"Oh?" Shane blinked his eyes, smiled, and said to Gold, "Since you're a former officer of the Demon Clan, your status in the Primordial Demon must have been quite high, right?"
"Which Great Apostle's Angel Envoy are you? Come on, tell me."
Shane's interrogation, devoid of any nervousness, was met only with Gold's murderous glare.
Seeing this, Shane remained unfazed as he began to press down harder with his foot.
Gold's cry of pain rang out immediately.
There was no helping it, the force Shane applied was immense, almost sinking his foot into Gold's facial bones, causing a sound like breaking bones, making it impossible for Gold not to scream in pain.
But it has to be said, the guy was still quite tough.
"Kill me!" Gold roared in pain, "Do it quickly! You detestable Hero!"
While shouting, Gold also struggled.
Sadly, with his Magic Power confined, and talking purely about Physical Strength, he was no match for Shane.
Gold's physique clearly showed he was a warrior who favored strength, and no doubt he had a considerable amount of it, but Shane's Growth Rate in all aspects was the highest, reaching Level 95, not falling short even when talking about Physical Strength compared to Limit Level strength-focused warriors.
Thus, Gold's struggles proved futile, and he directly and decisively activated his Unique Skill.
Gold's face instantly turned to steel, sprouting a sharp spike.
The spike stabbed at the bottom of Shane's foot, but only struck sparks.
Shane curled his lips into a smile.
"Such an attack wouldn't even break through my 'Inner Destiny's' defense, let alone injure me?"
As he spoke, Shane suddenly applied force, pressing his foot down on Gold's steel-like face as if he had the weight of ten thousand pounds.
Gold's face, turned to steel, finally shattered.
The wailing suddenly became louder and filled with more pain.
"Kill me! Just kill me!"
Gold struggled again, wailing incessantly.
But Shane was completely unmoved.
"Answer my question," Shane said very calmly, "I'm quite interested in your Primordial Demon."
Shane still had a lot to learn about the Old Demon Clan Faction.
Now that he had finally caught an Envoy who was directly under the command of one of the three Great Apostles, and held a high position, Shane naturally wanted to interrogate him thoroughly to gather information.
"If you tell me where the main stronghold of the Primordial Demon is, and where that Leader is, I might even let you go."
Shane spoke leisurely.
"Of course, don't play the loyal soldier who refuses to betray to the death, and don't give me the bit about dying for loyalty, it's too cliché, and not only would you guys get bored of it, the readers would too."
Shane's words still lacked a sense of tension, almost as if he were playing.
But the foot on Gold's face didn't relax in the slightest, steadily increasing in pressure.
Gold had no doubt that if this continued, his head would be crushed.
Being crushed wasn't the issue, after all, he wanted to die.
The problem was Shane's method of slowly applying pressure, gradually increasing the pain, torturing him in such a way, was simply infuriating.
With hate already in his heart, Gold, driven by this hatred, burst out laughing in rage.
"You'll never get any information about the Primordial Demon from me."
It wasn't because Gold was particularly loyal, it was just his nature to be stubborn and arrogant, unwilling to submit to the enemy, let alone let someone he loathed succeed.
Shane didn't say much else, but after a snort, he spoke.
"Don't worry, there are plenty of ways to make you talk."
With that, Shane lifted his foot and aimed it at Gold's neck, delivering a kick.
With the dull sound, Gold's head twisted, and he fainted.
Chafne, who had been observing all this, finally stopped playing with her hair and looked at Shane suspiciously.
"Tell me," she said, full of doubt, "are you really a Hero? With this style of yours, I'm starting to wonder if you're actually from the Demon Clan."
"How so?" Shane responded innocently, "Is my style really that villainous?"
"Yes," Chafne said earnestly, "it's even more so than the villains. Compared to him, I think you're more likely from the Old Demon Clan Faction."
"Good," Shane patted his chest in mock relief and exclamation, "In this day and age, being a proper Hero is not appreciated, and I don't want to be criticized as a Holy Mother, so I must really promote this style."
"Pfft." Chafne couldn't help but laugh, "Alright, keep up with this style then, since we've got your back, no one's going to kill you."
...Are you implying that I could get killed?
Shane was left speechless.