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The war for humanity's true freedom from the invasion of the Demon Race was nearing its end.
Witnessing the utter destruction of the enemy space fleet solidified that for everybody who participated in this. Now, all that's left is the clean-up. Humans were now clearing up the remaining stray demons, making sure to not miss any. They don't want to give them any chance of enacting revenge, so they must be eradicated down to the last one.
The hunt was merciless. There were no negotiations. No amount of begging or compromise moved humans; they killed all demons on sight and didn't accept surrender.
Even those who were left floating in space weren't spared. Because although it's almost certain that they won't survive long exposed to the vacuum of space, it's better to be safe than sorry; they might as well be shot to death instead of getting careless and risk letting one escape.
However, a change happened in the middle of the clean-up.
Swoosh!!
An invisible fluctuation erupted out of nowhere. The wave of strange energy solidified the space and warped it into a different scenery.
All of a sudden, everybody found themselves inside a vast yet desolate space. The air was dry and the skies were gloomy. There seemed to be mountains over the distance, but the absence of life was glaring. Not even a blade of grass could be seen anywhere.
As for those who were swept up to this place, they found themselves gathered into a single place. All the humans were on one side, and the few remaining demons were on the opposite side.
"Hey, look! Down there!"
Someone alerted the rest. They all looked down at the battlefield and saw two figures standing on opposing sides.
One was a purple-skinned demon with horns growing from his temples. His horns wrapped around his head, forming something that looked like a crown of thorns. He was heavily armored and was exuding a fearsome aura that warped the space around him even without his conscious influence.
The demon was huge and held a long and sinister-looking spear, which looked like it was a spine taken out from an unknown alien creature that's still alive somehow.
His crimson eyes were glaring at the human who stood in front of him with overwhelming hatred and intent to kill. His raging emotions seem to resonate with his aura and the spear on his hand, causing both to pulse with frightening power.
Meanwhile, the human who stood at the opposite side of the demon looked puny in terms of size.
He's much smaller compared to the height of the demon, around seven feet tall at best. His expression was a stark contrast to the one that the demon had. He didn't look angry or excited. Just calm, indifferent even. It's as if he's not taking any of this seriously.
The human had long golden hair that almost reached the back of his knees, tied in a high ponytail. They danced wildly with the wind, making it look like billowing golden flames surrounding him. He also had the most gorgeous pair of golden eyes, one that could easily make anybody unable to stare directly at him due to their sheer brilliance.
"Besides, it's been a while since I had a decent exercise. I just hope that you'd make this fun for me."
The Demon God's eyes darkened upon hearing his boastful tone.
Without any prior warning, he released his might all over the battlefield in an instant. His aura flared, and something appeared behind him.
A large gate manifested out of nowhere. It was wrapped in thick chains and oozed with ominously evil energy. The Demon God slammed the butt of his spear to the ground, causing it to release a pitched tone of pain and hatred that shattered the chains that bound the gates.
Bang! Boom!
The gates exploded wide open without the chains, revealing an omnious wormhole that immediately vomitted an obscene amount of demonic corruption accross the field as well as nightmare-inducing creatures.
The creatures were disfigured and moved in a strange way. They looked as if they're standing still and glitching from existence, but they're steadily advancing towards Cedric somehow. The sight of it was unnerving to say the least, and all who saw these creatures felt an instinctive aversion towards them. And yes, that includes the few remaining demons as well.
"Ah! So that's why they branded you folks as Space Pirates!" Cedric exclaimed in understanding. "It turns out that you also plotted against the Forsaken Race."
The Demon God's ears rang incessantly in alarm after hearing Cedric's accusations. Well, it's not really an accusation since it's the truth, but the fact that this child recognized the creatures he released was certainly a sign that he knew far more things than he initially expected.
The Forsaken Race was one of the most pitiful creatures born in the territory of the alliance. Despite their obvious strangeness though, they used to be really peaceful creatures, and both the Dragon Race and Fey Race had a soft spot for them, declaring them as endangered species that must be preserved.
Any nefarious plots against them will be met with fierce retaliation from the alliance as a whole. So the fact that the Demon God had them sealed and corrupted meant that he violated their rule, and this was most likely the reason why he and his people were branded as Space Pirates and being hunted by the alliance like some degenrates.
"Oh, you poor things," Cedric muttered softly as if he's sighing in pity for corrupted creatures. "Don't be afraid; let me free you from this torture."
After saying this, the golden flames on his sword erupted with a scalding intensity. Its heat could be felt everywhere, despite the flames being concentrated on the sword only.
Even the people isolated from the battlefield could feel the dangerous heat of his sword.
Cedric then performed an ordinary slice with his sword. It looked as casual as it could ever be, but the results were astonishing.
The heat alone caused all traces of corruption to disappear. The forsaken creatures collapsed on the spot and returned to their original appearance. And before the Demon God could do anything, Cedric had already retrieved every single one of them for safekeeping.
Nursing them back to health and submitting them to the alliance should net a considerable amount of merit points for him, so why the hell would he let the chance escape his grasp?
Judging by the expression of the Demon God, however, it's clear that he did not like what Cedric did.