Shin stood there in shock, unable to utter a single word. His brain was in shambles, trying to make sense of what he was looking at, but the more it tried, the more grotesque the face became.
"I guess mortals really can't do anything against my true form," the face said as it disappeared into the darkness.
Then, the darkness in the room began being sucked into the direction the face went.
The room brightened as all the darkness disappeared, and a tall figure stood in front of him. The figure had long black hair and two large horns on its head.
He wore a black vest and had thin linen cloths hanging from his bracelets down to his baggy pants. He held a large black spear in his right hand and a bell in his left.
His brown skin glistened as the moonlight rose and hit it, clearly revealing him.
"I am Demon King Clamore, and today is the day you die," he said as black tendrils wrapped around Shin's legs and held him upside down.
"Before I kill you, mortal, tell me your last words," Clamore said in a commanding voice.
Shin snapped back to reality and just stared at Clamore for a few seconds. "All I ask for is a favour... if I lose this fight... please kill every member of the hero party for me," Shin answered with a cold tone in his voice.
Clamore was shocked for a second. He looked at Shin with a mocking smile. "You say 'if' like you have a chance at winning," he said in a mocking voice.
Well, if I'm going to die... I'd rather die swinging, Shin thought to himself as he swiftly cut the tendrils that held him up and landed gracefully on his feet.
He sprinted towards the demon king and swung his sword. Clamore smiled and shook the bell; a wave of sound hit Shin, paralyzing him.
The demon king then thrust his spear at Shin. With all the power Shin had, he managed to dodge the attack, only grazing his leg as he jumped back.
"Combination Magic: Tier 4 — Flaming Hurricane!" A large flaming hurricane appeared, rushing straight for the demon king and launching him into the wall, burning everything in the room in the process.
Shin stood there, out of breath. Shit, I used up all of my mana in that attack, he thought to himself.
"Tier 4, huh! That's a tier of magic most normal people can't reach. Not to mention it's a combination of two different attributes. Quite impressive," Clamore said as he walked out of the smoke, partially burnt, most of his clothes destroyed as well.
"Then let me bless you with a spell as well," Clamore said as he pointed his left hand at Shin.
Immediately, Shin ran up to the demon king and jumped to deliver a fatal attack.
"Dark Magic: Tier 5 — Whiplash Shadow!" A wave of dark slashes flew towards Shin. He managed to block most of them, but two managed to cut off his legs and left arm.
Just as Shin was processing this, he felt something impale him. When he looked down, he saw the demon king's spear piercing right through his heart.
"I'll make sure to fulfill your request for you," Clamore said as he lifted Shin above him, opened his mouth, and let his blood drip in.
After three drops, Clamore felt something shift in the atmosphere, and Shin's blood changed taste.
He closed his mouth and saw Shin's white hair turn pitch black. Shin held his sword on top of his left shoulder.
"Demon King Clamore, you will die in the name of the goddess," Shin blurted out as his right shoulder glowed bright.
Using all his strength, Shin coated his sword in black mana. "Destructive Art: Form 3 — Annihilation!"
Clamore stood in shock as he remembered the technique Shin used.
Just as he spoke, a wave of darkness blew past him, and his head fell to the ground. "That's... master's technique," Clamore whispered as his body collapsed and crumbled away.
As Shin lay bare on the ground, a wall in the room burst open as the 4th general entered with a beaten and exhausted hero party.
The party leader looked down and saw Shin's dead body. "He managed to kill the demon king! That's impossible!" he shouted.
The general looked at the two. She clenched her teeth as she lunged at Shin's corpse and vanished in a flash of green with it.
"Well, good news for the goddess then," the party's healer said as she healed the rest.
"The general is a necromancer, but we have nothing to fear from that loser," another party member said.
The leader looked at the crumbling corpse of the demon king and turned away. The hero party all left the castle, not questioning themselves about the actions of the demon general.