Crushing flags and claiming the Villainess

There was a heavy silence in the conference room. Every council head was present—except for the two who had died during the ambush. William and Olivia sat among them, grim-faced.

Charlotte wasn't here. Her wounds were too severe to move.

No one had gathered to blame William. They knew he hadn't caused this. Even if he had been on this side when the attack hit, there was no way he could've stopped something so massive on his own.

Demons had swept across every major city in every nation. It wasn't just the Hellstains. Hundreds of demons surged through the SOS, like they'd been waiting—waiting for the strongest defenders to leave, so they could strike with no resistance.

"Three S-rank warriors gave their lives fighting the ancient Phoenix to protect the headquarters," said one of the council heads, placing a thick file on the table. It contained the names of the fallen.

Over seventy thousand were dead. More than twenty thousand had sacrificed themselves. Two council heads had been caught in the crossfire. Killed instantly.

William stared at the list, jaw clenched, hands trembling.

He hadn't been there. He was locked in battle with a demon on the other side while his people were being massacred.

"There was nothing more you could've done, Warrior," said one of the older heads, his voice tired.

"That's right," another added. "The attack was too wide. We were unprepared."

But it didn't matter what they said. William couldn't stop blaming himself.

What was the point of all this power… if he couldn't use it to protect anyone?

"It was a trap," one of the heads muttered grimly. "The Demon Lord planned this. He waited until both William and Austin were out of reach."

But then Olivia spoke, correcting him with quiet fury, "No. That bastard didn't just want to win a battle. He wanted to break us. That's why he waited until we were gone—to hit the people we loved."

She had lost her grandparents. She knew exactly how Austin felt.

Astaroth hadn't just ambushed them. He'd shattered them from the inside.

The room fell into a brief, tense silence.

Then William stood.

"I'm going to attack the Demon Lord," he said. "Today."

Gasps rang out around the table. Shock filled the air like lightning.

He was still wounded. The Demon Lord had barely been scratched during their last clash—and he'd be ready this time.

For William to go now…

It was suicide.

"You can't," one of the council heads said, voice firm. "And this time, we will stop you if we have to."

The others didn't speak, but their eyes said the same. Hard. Resolute.

Olivia leaned forward, her voice steady but pained. "Sorry, Will... but I agree with them. I won't let you go to the other side. Not like this. Not in the shape you're in."

William snapped.

"Then what the hell do you want me to do? Sit here and grieve? Wait for them to strike again—watch them slowly wipe us out while we just hope it won't be as bad next time?!"

His voice cracked at the end, raw with anguish. He was hurting—torn between rage and helplessness.

The weight in his chest wouldn't leave him. It pressed down like a curse.

He couldn't forget the sight of those hundreds of bodies, lined up on the cold earth. The lifeless faces. The silence of the dead.

Watching them be buried, one by one, made him feel like tearing out his heart—or ending it all right then and there.

A suffocating silence fell over the hall.

No one dared speak. Because deep down, they understood.

William was the only one among them with no hunger for power. No personal ambitions. He just wanted peace. He lived to protect others.

And now, he stood here—lost, broken—feeling like everything he lived for had been shattered.

The heavy silence was pierced by the sound of approaching footsteps.

Then a voice—cool and calm—echoed through the hall.

"Well, here's something to ease your wounded hearts."

Austin stepped inside and, without warning, tossed something toward the center of the table.

Thud.

Everyone's eyes snapped away from Austin and toward the object that now rested on the table.

And then—

"...!!"

"What the—?!"

"Holy shit!"

"Wait...that face… no way!"

Blood drained from their faces as they stared at the head lying before them—eyes rolled back, fresh blood dripping from the torn flesh where the neck had once been.

There was no mistaking it.

"The Demon Lord?! Did you kill him?" one of the officers blurted out, pushing back his chair and standing abruptly.

Austin gave a lazy shrug. "Well, I doubt Astaroth gave me his head as a gift."

He walked around the table and dropped into the seat beside Olivia, casually throwing his feet up onto the polished surface.

No one scolded him. No one even moved.

They were still trying to process what they were seeing.

The Demon King... dead?

Just like that?

But then a suspicious voice cut through the awe.

"Wait a second... you're not pulling the same trick you did with Thea's Shard, are you?"

All eyes turned to Austin again, now laced with both hope and caution.

Because if this was real—if Astaroth was truly dead—then the world had just changed forever.

Austin let out a long sigh, rubbing the back of his neck—but before he could say anything, someone else spoke.

"No, it's him," William said, voice low and firm. His brows drew together as he studied the head on the table. "I can still feel the Darkness in the blood... There's no doubt. This head belongs to the Demon Lord."

The room fell utterly still.

The realization settled like a thick fog, spreading through each heart. No more questions needed to be asked.

This was real.

The Demon Lord was dead.

"…Just how?" Olivia whispered.

She almost never looked shaken—but now, her expression was one of disbelief. And rightly so.

Two days ago, this creature nearly wiped them out. Backed by an army. Untouchable.

Now his severed head sat on the table.

"Took me two days," Austin muttered. "Honestly, I'm disappointed in myself. I wanted to kill him the day he murdered my parents… but the bastard was fast. Kept running."

His voice was calm, but his words sent a chill down every spine in the room.

Just how powerful had he become… in only two days?

"Then… there's no commander left on the other side?" one of the council heads asked hesitantly.

Austin shook his head. "For now? No. The throne is empty."

A flicker of hope sparked in the room—but it didn't last.

"But the Demon King isn't truly dead," Austin added.

Olivia sucked in a sharp breath. William's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"

Austin looked at the bloodied head again and spoke with quiet finality. "Did I forget to mention? He broke his soul into several fragments. Hid them all over the world so that he could never truly die. This one—" he pointed at the severed head, "—was his second-last fragment."

Everyone stiffened.

The short-lived relief shattered like glass.

The final piece… was still out there.

They exchanged uneasy glances, the weight of the moment pressing back down on them.

But beneath that fear, something else had taken root: belief.

Because now they knew—one warrior could shift the tides of war alone.

Austin had done what armies couldn't.

At that moment, no one doubted it anymore. He was the strongest warrior in the world.

"So… what now?" Olivia asked softly. "We just wait?"

"Can't we search for the last piece and end this once and for all?"

Austin shook his head. "It's nearly impossible. He could've hidden it anywhere. And the vessel could be anything—an object no one would ever think to look at. You can't sense it unless you're almost right on top of it."

His meaning was clear.

If it were something he could hunt down… he'd already be out there doing it.

But even the strongest man in the world couldn't fight what he couldn't find.

"Then we must wait," William called out, "Prepare since I know that after losing all his Generals and after being humiliated by Austin, Astaroth would rush for a direct assault."

"That's right," Austin confirmed, "He would go for all in, attacking from several sides so that we get confused and feel helpless. He would attack every single thing which we hold dear. So yes, be prepared."

A nervous silence settled in the room, everyone carefully considering the words spoken.

After a long pause, Austin soon got up.

"Ummm...won't you stay? We can discuss the strategy-"

"I have a funeral to attend." Austin's words completely shut off the lady.

Without another words, Austin stepped out and found Selner standing there.

Wordlessly they nodded before they started to walk out of the building.

It's time.

°°°°°°°°

A/N:- Thanks for reading. I might be hasten things a little but there was nothing to show on the other side. Drop a comment.