Crushing flags and claiming the Villainess

The air cracked. The two figures appeared and vanished in quick succession.

The battle was roaring through the battlefield. Neither of the two is ready to yield.

Rhea lunged forward, blade flashing like a bolt of silver. Her boots tore through the dirt, leaving a gouged trail behind. Zephyr barely leaned aside in time—her sword grazed his cloak, slicing it clean.

THUNK!

A bolt flew from his crossbow—straight at her head.

CLANG!

She deflected it mid-air with a sharp twist of her wrist, spinning low to close the gap. Zephyr recalled the crossbow and whipped out his curved elven knife, eyes sharp, movements sharper.

They clashed.

Steel howled.

Rhea's strikes came fast—downward slash, sweeping cut, feint—then a sudden thrust that tore through a tree behind Zephyr as he flipped over her shoulder.

BOOM!

The tree split in half and crashed to the ground.

Zephyr landed and instantly darted sideways, his speed unnatural. He fired a second bolt from a smaller wrist-mounted bow. Rhea bent backward—it missed her by an inch.

She didn't stop.

Dashing forward, she slammed her shoulder into him. The impact shook the ground—cracks webbed out under their feet. Zephyr slid back, feet skidding, knife raised just in time to block another furious overhead slash.

CLANG! SPARKS!

Rhea pushed harder. Their blades locked, her strength pressing down. Zephyr gritted his teeth and twisted, breaking the clash with a sidestep and a slash aimed at her ribs.

She spun, avoided it, and struck with the back of her blade—THWACK!

His chestplate was dented. He flew back and slammed into a rock—CRASH!—shattering it.

Dust exploded around him.

Rhea charged through it.

Zephyr vanished again—flickering to her side with elven speed—and slashed. Blood drew from her shoulder.

But she didn't slow.

She twisted, grabbed his wrist, and yanked him mid-spin before headbutting him—CRACK!

He stumbled, dazed, and her sword arced toward his neck.

He barely rolled away.

The blade struck the ground—

BOOOOM!

A crater opened where he had stood.

The earth shook. Chunks of stone flew. Trees swayed from the force.

Zephyr coughed, kneeling, switching his knife back to a bolt. He fired.

Rhea tilted her head. It grazed her cheek—but she was already there.

With a roar, she slammed her foot into his chest—sending him flying across the battlefield like a ragdoll.

He crashed through a pillar. Then another.

He slowly got up, while Rhea remained standing, her eyes filled with nothing but madness as she prepared another assault.

"This won't last long," came a voice from Austin's side.

He was holding Valerie in his arms. The other three S-ranks had also gathered, eyes locked on the battlefield ahead—a storm of destruction caused by two superhuman warriors.

William stood frozen, mouth slightly open, barely able to track the clashing figures. Only the shockwaves and roars of combat thundered in his ears, shaking the ground beneath them.

"I know," Austin muttered, eyes focused on Rhea.

She had awakened—but not without cost. The sudden surge of power was tearing through her body like wildfire. If she didn't stop soon, she'd break... or lose herself entirely.

Neither was an option.

"We need to get Rhea out of there and then hunt down Astaroth," Austin whispered to himself, his mind racing. The demon lord was bound to launch a full-scale attack if left unchecked. But first, he had to stop that pink-haired storm from destroying herself.

"Austin."

Selner placed a hand on his shoulder, her expression grave. "Your homeland... it's under attack."

"...!!"

Everyone turned sharply.

"What happened?" Olivia was the first to demand.

Selner's voice was clipped, urgent. "The Hellstains—every one of them across the nation—they erupted all at once. Hundreds of demons came pouring out."

Austin's breath caught.

The blood-mark of Astaroth.

With the demon king's awakening... of course they would awaken too.

"Fuck."

He gently passed Valerie to Selner, crouched low—and launched.

Zephyr spotted him in the air and raised his crossbow.

SPLING!

The arrow flew with deadly force—

—but Rhea stepped in.

She bit into the arrow, snapped it in her teeth, and spat out the broken pieces like bone.

Zephyr's face twisted in frustration, but before he could react, Austin sent a razor-sharp slash his way, forcing the elf chief to dodge with a growl.

Austin landed behind Rhea just as she was about to follow Zephyr into the next strike.

Her glowing eyes were wild. Veins bulged beneath her skin, and heat rolled off her like steam from a boiling forge. Her body was nearing collapse.

"Rhea," Austin called calmly. "It's enough now. Calm down."

She turned, teeth clenched, fists trembling.

She was ready to fight him too.

Austin raised his hands to show he meant no harm and slowly stepped closer. "Our home is under attack. We need to—"

His words were cut short.

WHOOSH!

She swung.

The blade screamed through the air. Austin barely dodged. The blow shattered the fort's wall behind them like paper.

She roared, spinning, and went for his neck.

TNNG!

Her sword stopped mid-air.

A green barrier pulsed around him. The Absolute Barrier—unmoving, unbreakable.

Rhea blinked, confused. She slashed again, and again.

Nothing.

Not even a scratch.

Austin sighed, "She's gone full beast..."

Her mind was drowning in power. If he let her go, she'd burn herself alive.

And then, a mocking voice echoed from above.

"Quite pitiful, you humans are," Astaroth sneered from high in the sky, arms crossed like a god watching insects. "So, tell me... what now, Hero? Will you fight me? Save your friend? Or run home to protect your precious people?"

That smile of his stretched unnaturally wide.

Austin didn't even blink. "Oh, I can do all that."

Suddenly—

[Resonant Bond: Activated!]

[Target acquired!]

[Connection built!]

Astaroth raised an eyebrow.

But before he could speak—

Austin raised his arms, gripping Kane's bow.

Astaroth's eyes widened.

"Where did you—"

He didn't get to finish.

Austin loosed the string—

—a glowing arrow shot through the air with near-invisible speed.

Too fast to evade.

Zephyr moved on instinct.

SHHHK!

He stepped in front of Astaroth—just in time.

The arrow hit him clean in the chest, and Zephyr screamed.

The energy corroded him—his exoskeleton cracked and hissed.

"Fucking scar…" he growled, falling to one knee.

Austin didn't smile, but his eyes narrowed with purpose. He dropped the barrier and caught the unconscious Rhea before she could fall.

Then, without ever turning his back on Astaroth, he leapt back and regrouped with the others.

And still—

Astaroth didn't move.

His gaze followed them with eerie calm, lips tight. He whispered to himself,

"He's changed... That power—was it those winged ones meddling again?"

He narrowed his eyes.

There were answers he needed to uncover.

Soon.

°°°°°°°°°

A/N:- Thanks for reading. I am depressed.