The creature before them looked, at a glance, like a troll.

Its appearance and body structure bore a resemblance to the stone trolls that the cadets had battled earlier, suggesting that calling this creature a troll wouldn’t be incorrect.

However…

‘Could a troll of that size even exist?’

It was nearly five times the size of a typical troll, perhaps even larger. Its skin was a dark, blood-like red, and instead of the usual rocky texture of troll skin, it was covered in scales resembling those of a snake.

A massive build, black-and-red-scaled skin, and on top of that…

[[GRRR….]]

A chill ran down their spines.

Its eyes were completely red, as if filled with blood.

“H-hah…”

The wizard managed to resist the aura it emitted, but his legs were trembling uncontrollably out of sheer terror.

And he recalled something.

‘R-right, I… I know what that is….’

He remembered an ancient document he had once read in his master’s library, a tome filled with various myths and legends, including one about a nightmare creature.

“The Demon King…”

A troll.

No, calling it a mere troll would be an understatement. Just speaking its title made him shiver.

With a rush of water, the creature began to rise from the lake.

It was a large, deep lake, but the creature’s body was only half-submerged. As it lifted itself, water flowed off its arms like a flood, creating waves in its wake. The creature moved as though the water provided no resistance at all. Observing it, the wizard found himself retreating step by step.

“The Demon King?”

The knight turned toward the trembling wizard, asking if he knew what it was.

A king…

“A grandiose title for a troll,” he said.

“D-don’t be foolish! The Demon King is no ordinary troll!” the wizard stammered.

While calling such a creature “king” seemed absurd, given what the Demon King was capable of, the wizard’s terror made sense.

“We need to run! Th-that creature isn’t just some monster! It’s the Demon King, the thousand-year-old troll!”

“...?”

“A troll champion that devours ogres, a creature with immortal strength! The kingdom killer!”

About a thousand years ago, there was an incident where a kingdom far more prosperous than Pendragon was annihilated overnight. Since the event existed only in ancient records, nobody knew if it was true, but as artifacts from the fallen kingdom surfaced over time, that record became widely accepted as fact. It was said that the destruction of the kingdom in a single night was caused by none other than…

“A single troll…”

A lone monster was responsible for the disaster.

But it wasn’t just any troll.

A troll that had lived for a thousand years.

As ancient forests, lakes, winds, and volcanoes gain a spiritual presence over time, so, too, had this troll, surviving for a millennium to become a calamity beyond the human understanding of a monster.

“A being that evolved through the mysteries of a thousand years, the king of all trolls and the peak of monsters… that’s what it is.”

Black-scaled skin. A body over twenty times the size of a typical troll. Immortality, with a regenerative power unmatched by sword, fire, magic, or any weapon.

The Demon King.

It could rightly be called a “Devil King,” but it had earned the title “Demon King” for its resemblance to a malevolent spirit. It was a natural disaster in living form, something humanity had no business confronting.

“We need to run, now! Before it’s too late…!”

The wizard’s terror was purely instinctual, a survival mechanism for any living being.

But the knight, having heard everything, simply remarked,

“Twenty times? It doesn’t look like more than five times to me.”

The knight’s indifferent expression wasn’t because he was ignoring or dismissing the wizard’s warning. It wasn’t because he underestimated the creature.

It was simply because, to him…

‘It doesn’t seem that powerful.’

Despite the elaborate description, he saw nothing that looked capable of destroying a kingdom.

While the wizard trembled with fear, the knight narrowed his eyes, sizing up his [enemy].

The knight asked calmly, “It’s larger than an average troll, sure, but doesn’t it seem smaller than the stories suggest?”

“I-I suspect it’s malnourished,” the wizard replied. “The Demon King supposedly spends centuries in hibernation at the far reaches of the continent, where humans never tread. Maintaining such a large body must be inefficient, so it likely remains in hibernation. And now, the Demon King has been forcefully summoned, interrupting its rest. That means…”

[[─GAAAA!!!]]

“…it’s furious from being woken up without enough rest and experiencing severe hunger due to the stress of its interrupted sleep.”

The wizard’s analysis was logical. As a wizard, interpreting the world through magic was his specialty.

And if the wizard’s assessment was correct, it meant the troll required a massive amount of sustenance to regain its strength—and that sustenance would likely come from…

“So, it may have a grand title, but it’s just a troll in the end.”

All monsters ate humans, but trolls, known as flesh-eating fiends, had a particular penchant for them.

“We… we’re all going to be eaten…”

The wizard’s mind, whether he wanted it to or not, calculated the number of humans the Demon King would need to consume to regain its full strength, based on the ancient records.

And the conclusion?

‘The entire capital’s population—!’

The moment that creature escaped the lake, nothing would remain of the city.

“It’s over… the Demon King… a legendary Demon King…”

The wizard was overcome with despair, his quick-thinking mind already accepting the futility of victory.

Unable to summon his magic, he had lost the will to fight.

…But the knight remained unmoved.

“So, it’s incredibly weakened?”

“…?”

“Well, that’s all I needed to know.”

Ignoring the wizard’s despair, the knight walked toward the lake confidently, downing five potions at once and jabbing another syringe directly into his leg.

Crunch!

Normally, the recommended daily potion dosage was two. Exceeding that would cause symptoms of addiction and hallucinations, but the knight didn’t care. Now was not the time to worry about side effects.

Luckily, his body contained troll blood, which would minimize the adverse effects.

In fact…

“Phew, finally, I feel a bit alive.”

The effects were almost too good.

Crack, crack.

He felt his body grow lighter, achieving a forced awakening effect. His broken and battered legs healed, and his skin began to regenerate.

His blood supply was somewhat replenished, and with that, he concluded,

“A troll is still just a troll.”

[[Grrr-!!]]

The Demon King did not understand human language. It couldn’t comprehend what the knight was saying, but one thing became clear.

The Demon King’s sensitive nose caught a scent.

“Oh, this potion? It’s made from your kin’s blood. How’s that? Though I’ll admit, it’s only 30% concentrated—disappointing, right?”

The scent of his own kin on the wind.

[[GR-R-!]]

The Demon King might not have realized it was just an alchemic potion made to replicate troll blood, but it didn’t matter.

What mattered was that it was a taunt.

The Demon King, enraged, wanted nothing more than to tear the insolent human to pieces, to rip apart the creature that dared mock him and devour it as punishment.

Already furious from his interrupted hibernation, the Demon King prepared to pounce.

“You think I sacrificed a leg just to dump you in the lake?”

The knight cast his gaze skyward, watching as something hurtled down toward him.

“Captain! I-I brought it!”

“Drop it.”

“But…!”

“I won’t be hurt.”

“Alright!”

With a groan, Irene Windler released her telekinetic hold, dropping a cluster of massive harpoons.

Thirteen harpoons designed for hunting whales.

Clink.

“Thanks.”

The knight grabbed one mid-fall, giving Irene Windler a nod of appreciation, then took a deep breath—

—and hurled the harpoon with all his might.

BAM!

[[Grr!!]]

“In your era, humans may not have hunted whales.”

But this was no longer a thousand years ago.

“Let me show you just how advanced human cruelty has become.”

The harpoon pierced through the river, striking the Demon King’s shoulder, eliciting a pained growl. Although it hadn’t shattered the troll’s scales, it had cracked them like armor under an intense impact.

[[Gaa-.]]

It was then the Demon King realized.

This prey was not easy.

Thus began the clash between a thousand-year-old flesh-eating fiend and a man enhanced by the dark ingenuity of human malice.

 

What happens when a harpoon is fired like a cannon?

It’s simple.

You get a cannon disguised as a harpoon.

Its power was monstrous enough to hunt a blue whale, a colossal force designed in the Age of Exploration by kingdoms who sought to conquer the seas. However, after several kingdoms were inundated by the wrath of the ocean guardian Leviathan, and after humans had begged for mercy and sought forgiveness, these weapons were largely abandoned.

But humans never let a good invention go to waste.

They adapted the giant harpoons to hunt large land-based monsters and even oceanic creatures that had become monstrous in their own right.

And so, the cannon-harpoon, which had been brutal enough for whaling, was even more lethal in its modern, upgraded form.

Crunch!

The Demon King was agitated.

He wanted to escape the river, yet the harpoons continued to pierce his flesh.

Each harpoon’s force was enough that even the Demon King couldn’t ignore it. Under normal circumstances, he might have been able to, especially after consuming some nourishment. But as luck would have it—

“Keep that mouth closed!”

Just as the Demon King was about to swallow a fish, Ihan shot a harpoon straight into his mouth.

The harpoon struck with incredible speed, power, and precision!

BOOM!

The blow twisted the Demon King’s jaw.

Thud, thud….

[[G…R…!]]

But true to his legendary status, the Demon King caught another harpoon in his teeth, displaying strength that rivaled Ihan’s own.

However—

“Fool. That’s why you’re still just a troll.”

[[!!!!]]

Gag!

The moment the harpoon’s liquid reached the Demon King’s mouth, an indescribable agony exploded in his throat and mouth. It was as though thousands of needles were stabbing him.

While most poisons had little effect on trolls, this one was different. It was an alchemical toxin, specially crafted by an alchemist, a gift acquired only through grueling negotiation with a particular princess.

“I told you I’d show you how far human cruelty has come.”

Ihan was true to his word. Over countless years of survival and adaptation, humanity had refined its malice into powerful weapons.

A thousand-year lifespan? A troll king with immortal regeneration?

That meant nothing.

“Humans like us were made to hunt creatures like you.”

If one day humans decided to conquer the moon, they’d find a way to do it.

With that thought, Ihan pressed forward relentlessly, driving the Demon King back, while a young mage girl looked on.

‘Wait… who’s the real monster here?’

[…is it us?]

…indeed.

‘The humans here… this is kind of… appalling.’

Irene Windler could no longer tell who the real villain was as she stared in stunned disbelief.

 

Crunch!

“What?”

[It’s… chewing through the harpoon?!]

As if to demonstrate that good and evil were mere human constructs, the Demon King, an entity of evil with all the viciousness of a true Devil King, pressed forward, determination blazing in its eyes.

[[You… I will kill you.]]

Dodging each incoming harpoon, it advanced.

Finally, it set foot upon solid ground.

[[You… die now.]]

“Big one, aren’t you?”

The creature was as big as three elephants combined. It wasn’t only massive but emanated a terrifying aura and killing intent.

Even a seasoned veteran would feel their blood freeze at the sight of it, clutching their chest as if death itself were approaching.

The knight took it all in, drawing his sword.

“…To think I’d be satisfied sniping at you from a distance.”

There was only so much time a knight could spend fighting like a foot soldier.

And so, with a few casual swings of his sword and a satisfied grin, he declared,

“Let’s see if you’ll die after enough cuts and stabs.”

Unwavering resolve.

In battle, retreat meant death.

With not a single step backward, he advanced steadily, ready for whatever came his way.