What was that just now? Was it because the sword was stuck too deeply into the ground or simply too heavy? When pulling it out, he used too much force and ended up stumbling and falling over.
What was that? It made it seem like the guy clad in divine armor was just an ordinary person.
A dignified Hero making such a ridiculously foolish mistake? Don't tell me he's really just some regular guy who stole divine gear to show off?
For a moment, what was supposed to be a stunning display by this god-tier Hero—one whom the gods believed would only appear once every billion years—ended in a clumsy and confusing mishap?
Look—even the Demon King didn't seem to care. Completely unimpressed.
However, the Hero got back on his feet, both hands gripping the sword as he raised it high above his head. At that moment, it was as if the holy sword began to reveal its true majesty.
Accompanied by the roar of a storm, the sword's form was unveiled.
Its radiant blade, like a promise of victory, shone with a brilliance more dazzling than sunlight—resplendent and golden.
Then, endless light began to converge upon it, as if illuminating this holy sword was the very mission of existence itself.
In that instant, despite the dawn sky already being bright, stars—billions of them—shone clearly, casting starlight upon the earth.
It was as if the world itself was trying to save itself, with particles of light rising from the ground.
All that divine radiance gathered toward the supreme holy sword, forming an overwhelmingly brilliant beam of light, so intense it seemed absurd.
Under this intense, sacred, and pure light that bathed the world, all who witnessed it were struck speechless. It no longer mattered who wore this forbidden sacred Hero's armament—the divine aura it emanated was unquestionable.
Without a doubt, this was the sword that would save the world. The absolute holy light that banishes all darkness.
This sacred sword was the one sought after by Heroes throughout history to defeat countless Demon Kings—the ultimate demon-slaying holy sword.
In that moment, nearly a thousand mechanical evil dragons and fallen angels, which had been flying about like headless flies after the silence of the doomsday beast Icarus, were all consumed by the sacred light.
Like paper soaked in alcohol, they ignited into pure white flames and burned to nothing—not even ashes remained.
Raising this supreme holy sword high, the Hero upheld absolute justice, bearing the glory of humanity, liberating the world from the shroud of darkness—and swung it down upon the embodiment of evil: the Calamity Demon King.
At that moment, the Hero loudly chanted the name of the miracle he held in his hands:
[Excalibur!!!]
In that instant, light surged and roared.
Divine power, now freed from all restraints, transformed into a torrential current of purifying light that engulfed the enemy of the world—the Demon King—in a river of starlit divine brilliance.
But the Demon King did not sit idly by.
Knowing no fear, just as a Hero cannot retreat before the Demon King, the Demon King too would never cower before the Hero. He struck back with equal ferocity.
Thus, the Demon King unleashed darkness like hell poured straight from a cauldron.
A tidal wave of pitch-black energy surged upward. Billions of red-black thunder serpents gathered into what looked like a world-devouring serpent, jaws wide enough to consume heaven and earth, seemingly ready to swallow the oncoming divine light.
But compared to the galactic torrent of divine radiance, the so-called world-serpent was nothing more than the fabled "snake swallowing an elephant"—an exaggerated and impossible dream.
The flood of salvation light surged forth, spinning countless whirlpools, swallowing both the world-serpent and the darkness that sought to blanket the earth.
In the blink of an eye, before the serpent could even reach the Hero adorned in full divine gear, its form was already being devoured by the holy light's divine magic, vanishing like a mirage.
As for the Demon King, under the cleansing flood of divine light visible to even half the planet, the dark domain radiating from his hellish body rapidly shrank.
Ultimately, like a candle in the wind, the Demon King's body was pierced by countless particles of holy light until it was riddled with holes—then it evaporated like mist, leaving not a trace behind.
As for the mighty Icarus dragon, it had already been consumed by the earlier divine blaze.
Even the gaping hole in the sky had vanished without anyone noticing.
At that moment, the Heroes present could only silently watch everything unfold, unable to speak, their hearts and minds stolen by the radiant brilliance.
That was the glory of the Legendary Hero they all aspired to become.
Even the gods were mostly silent, overwhelmed by what they had just witnessed. Such divine brilliance could rival the might of the top deities.
One thing was certain—the Hero now stood shoulder to shoulder with the gods.
As for the evil gods, they felt a deep unease.
The Hero's power was a terrible threat to them, and measures had to be taken to make the Demon King stronger.
Some of the evil gods even set their sights on the god-tier Hero himself. If they could corrupt him into darkness, wouldn't he become a terrifying Demon King?
Worse yet—he might even become a Super Demon God capable of triggering Ragnarok.
Aside from that, multiple other factions had also turned their attention to the Hero. Some had enough self-awareness to know stealing the Hero's sacred gear was a death wish, so they instead targeted his bloodline.
Once his identity became known, countless human saintesses, elven princesses, beastfolk beauties—women beyond the mundane world—would throw themselves at him.
In this moment, every faction's gaze was fixed on the Hero—yet none could see his figure. The divine light still blanketed the world, too brilliant to see through.
At last, when the sacred radiance dimmed enough, the divine light particles nourished the land. Flowers and grass began to sprout anew on the ruined earth. The shattered atmosphere healed and cleared, and the world was once again bathed in gentle sunlight.
But as for the Hero—he was nowhere to be found.
"Where did he go?"
"Hurry, check all interdimensional gates! And see if any new ones opened!"
Just like the Demon King, who shouldn't have existed but mysteriously revived to plunge the world into despair—now, to maintain balance, an unknown Hero had appeared, tasked with correcting all anomalies and inconsistencies.
He returned the Demon King to ancient oblivion and brought light back to the world.
This time's Demon King—Rostar Ignatius—was not the typical S+ class, but temporarily ranked as a Demon God-tier SSS class, the most terrifying invader Earth had ever faced.