Crushing flags and claiming the Villainess

Zevarath was a General under the command of the Orc Lord, a figure feared across battlefields drenched in blood.

With the disappearance of the four demon generals and the Demon King, he was hailed as the King of the demonic monsters, one of the highest authorities left in the dark ranks.

His role was not simply to maintain order—it was to expand.

To ensure that when the Demon Lord rose once more, he would awaken to an army vast and powerful enough to crush all opposition.

And for that, Zevarath had set his sights on the most malleable of recruits—children.

Young minds, easy to bribe, easy to manipulate.

His task was simple: secure a handful of exceptional young talents, the kind that would be found in this very competition.

After all, only the strong made it this far.

Under normal circumstances, such a plan might have been met with fierce resistance.

But Zevarath had orchestrated distractions.

The Union Council was already overwhelmed, dealing with demonic incursions on multiple shores—a crisis of his own design.

Had the Union Council interfered, matters would have turned problematic.

Their Pillars—warriors of immense power—would have been formidable adversaries, even for him.

Which was why he had taken no risks.

He divided his forces, sending them in separate directions, keeping the Council stretched thin and engaged elsewhere.

With their eyes turned away, the perfect opportunity had presented itself.

’Now, come to me.

’ The demon general had a grin on his face as he levitated in the sky with his arms crossed.

Beneath him was a barrier that was barely visible even to him, even though it was his slaves who chanted it.

The carriage in which his target rested has left the venue.

Just a few minutes and he would get the prized human he has taken so much risk for.

Ever since that day when he fought her, Zevarath had only one thought in his head—what was she doing among humans?

She is strong but has a lot of potential in store.

Those few minutes, they didn’t fight but conversed through their weapon.

From that conversation, Zevarath got to know that the woman was wasting her talent by being with these weak ducklings.

She can achieve so much more than she possibly couldn’t imagine.

And for that, he would take her away.

She would not thrive while being with those people, especially not that weakling of a fiancé.

[She left.

Can you see her?

] Hearing Jasmine’s voice in his ear, Zevarath responded soon, "Yes, I can see her.

Is someone following the carriage?

" It would be a hassle and annoying if someone were to trace her.

Although this barrier would be hefty for any strong warrior, Zevarath didn’t want any disturbance in his hunting today.

[No, not that I can see.

Even Austin is just walking on the front lawn but shows no sign of following the carriage.

] Zevarath didn’t want to hear about that joke of a man.

Although he defeated Stain’s commander, he could never reach the level where he and Valerie would stand one day.

"Keep an eye on everything.

I won’t take it long.

" [You better not.

And start with the chaos in the arena already!

] She barked in his ear, which made him irritated.

However, considering it was required to keep the authority busy and the Union Council away from Zevarath, he followed Jasmine’s words.

Commanding his soldiers mentally, he told them to begin throwing the whole venue into chaos.

"Now, Valerie, no one can come between us.

" ....

Valerie frowned, as suddenly, she felt something weird coursing through her body.

It was an unfamiliar sensation...

as if her body was turning sluggish.

She raised her eyes and looked at others with a frown, "Where are you taking me...

" There was no chance they were headed to the headquarters.

She has visited it recently and knew it wasn’t the route.

The soldiers inside the carriage took out their knives before warning her, "Now, stay calm; otherwise, it is going to hurt.

" Valerie’s eyes darkened as she summoned her Shard, and instantly, the soldier beside her attacked her— "Hey, you-" However, his words faded since his throat and every part of his body were frozen under thick ice.

The other soldier’s eyes widened as he shoved the knife toward Valerie’s face, "Damn you!

" Valerie tilted her and held his wrist.

*CRACK* A snap it all took before a sharp cry echoed throughout the carriage.

Valerie summoned an ice shard before stabbing the man, in the middle of his head—fast and precise, ceasing his movement as his mind froze.

Valerie was breathing roughly as she looked around.

The carriage had stopped, but she could barely muster up her strength to dash out.

This sensation was extremely overpowering.

As if her own body has become the biggest burden to the girl.

Her face was pale as she pushed herself up and jumped out of the carriage— "Agh...

" —only for her ankle to twist.

Her body failed to respond and her bones seemed to have turned fragile.

Not only that, she could barely retain the form of her Shard.

Her soul was not responding to her command.

This was the first time she had experienced something like this.

"It took me over ten days...

to form this barrier.

" A voice echoed before Valerie raised her eyes and her Shard in the enemy’s direction.

The red-skinned demon she fought at the shore of Drenovar slowly descended to the surface, with his hands locked behind his back and a confident smile on his face.

Valerie had a cautious stance, even though she deep down knew that unless she converged all her strength in the running away, she would not survive in front of this entity today.

"I have been planning for this day, for so long...

and finally, you are here.

Tell me, Valerie, do you like my dedication.

" "You are not worthy to call me by my name...

so shut up and fight.

" Her tone still held the edge of that day.

And that’s what makes her so interesting in his eyes.

This was the first time he had met a human with such a burning fighting spirit.

"You are weakened, Valerie, and my soldiers have completely surrounded this barrier.

So neither you can run away nor anyone can come to save you.

" Valerie growled, "Who is running away?

" Those words were fueled with blood lust as she tapped her spear butt on the floor before several ice lances formed behind her.

Valerie pushed her arm forward before the ice spikes flew in an inhumane way.

Zevarath sighed as he moved minimally yet dodged each lance easily.

Valerie wasn’t done there.

She moved her hand, and those ice lances slowly stopped before twisting in the air.

She gritted her teeth in frustration—normally, she wouldn’t have felt so much trouble in spell manipulation Zevarath didn’t even turn to look at the lances and whipped his tail, to destroy each one of them into small fragments.

*CLANG* *CLANG* Valerie took several deep breaths, her vision blurring and her mind protesting her from keeping awake.

She fought the sensation and raised her spear.

A huge crystal formed above the demon, of the size of a huge tree.

She didn’t think twice before releasing the hold of her spell and letting the crystal fall on top of the demon.

**BOOOOOM** Taking advantage of the inhumane’s nonchalance, she turned around and began to run Her body was throbbing and her heart was audible in her ears.

She did her best to dash into the forest...

if only she could get away from this barrier...

"Ah!

" Valerie exclaimed as she bumped into something and fell down.

"As I said, my dear, there is no running away from me anymore.

You have to submit it today.

" Zevarath, who had appeared out of nowhere, lowered himself to her face level.

This barrier was made in a way that the stronger one’s Soul energy was, the weaker they would get.

That explains her current condition.

"Now, stop resisting.

" However, just as he held Valerie’s hand and pulled her up— **RUMBLE** The ground shook.

The connection with his soldiers, who were protecting the barrier, started to get cut off.

A strong presence approached Zevarath from behind...

a presence he couldn’t ignore.

It was then, Jasmine’s voice echoed in his ears, [It was Austin’s clone!

He has gone after you!

] Zevarath didn’t have to hear it from Jasmine to know.

The Demon could see him The same weakling he thought was beneath consideration as a potential threat.

However, right now, Zevarath could tell that the boy had gotten stronger....

much stronger than before.

"What do we have here—" Zevarath wanted to start with a formal greeting, but suddenly—an arrow pierced through his chest.

"Huh?

" Zevarath tilted his head as he looked at the arrow and found his body turning black for some reason.

The hand that was holding Valerie crumbled into dust, and soon his legs gave out, too.

Austin approached the demon before picking up an unconscious Valerie in his arms.

Looking at the fading demon before him, Austin relayed, "You shouldn’t have touched her.

" The last thing Zevarath saw before his ultimate demise was a pair of hollow eyes that held no emotions.

"You...

aren’t a human, are you?

" °°°°°°°° A/N:- Damn...

Austin used it without another thought.

He touched Valerie after all.