The Extra Can't be A Hero

Chapter 331: The Demon Empire (4)

"Absorbing the Titan King's core… It will be a long process."

Amon tried to sound confident—but even to his own ears, the certainty rang hollow.

With the Will of the Heavens at his side and his ascension as both the Moon God and the Judicator of Heaven complete, he stood closer than ever to the realm of divinity. If he could successfully absorb the Titan King's core, he would take another decisive step forward—enough, perhaps, to stand against the Goddess on equal footing.

But that "if" carried a weight far greater than any battlefield.

Absorbing the Titan King's core was no simple undertaking—it was a trial that bordered on the impossible.

First, though the Titan King had fallen, its will had not entirely faded. Residual consciousness lingered within the core, fragmented yet defiant, resisting any attempt to be claimed. It would fight Amon's intrusion until the very last trace of its existence was extinguished, turning the process into a brutal clash of minds rather than a mere transfer of power.

Second, the core itself was a reservoir of immeasurable energy—raw, ancient, and utterly unrefined. To absorb it was not enough; Amon would need to break it down, reshape it, and forge it into something his body and soul could withstand. Such a process would not take hours or days, but an agonising stretch of time—each moment demanding absolute precision. One misstep, and the power could tear him apart from within.

And finally, the most perilous challenge of all… Amon himself. To truly claim the Titan King's power, he would have to elevate every aspect of his being. His mind, body, and soul would need to ascend in unison, transcending their current limits to contain what he sought to wield.

It required flawless concentration, an unbroken state of focus where even the slightest distraction could spell failure… or worse.

Which meant, for the entire duration of this process, he would be vulnerable.

And not just him.

The Solaris House, his strongest pillar, would be left exposed—stripped of its greatest defender at a time when the world stood on the edge of collapse. Should the Demon Empire or the Goddess choose to strike… There would be little to stop them.

"How long do you expect it to take?"

"If I can be fast… a week. But, there's no telling since there has been no precedent."

Amon frowned as he caressed the divine core. The energies within were already showing signs of rejection, and if Amon let his concentration slip for a brief moment, the core would shatter reality itself and disappear into the void.

"I intend to start absorbing it tonight. In the meantime, I will leave the defences of the Solfea to you."

Although Amon was unquestionably the most powerful person on the side against the Demons and the Goddess, Yue was a close second. Just her contract with Origin alone made it possible for her to withstand the Goddess's attacks.

"That… Alright, I will hold the fort."

Truthfully, Yue wished that Amon could get some much-needed rest. But alas, the situation was far too dire for her to demand anything else. In the end, the only thing she could do was give Amon peace of mind.

❖❖❖

As Amon withdrew into a seclusion whose end none could foresee, a bone-deep stillness settled beyond Solfea. It was not peace, but the calm before the storm.

In his absence, Leon assumed command of Eldorin, leading the elite Order toward one of the Demon Empire's most fortified and fastest-growing cities: Morzeth.

Once, Morzeth had stood as a proud stronghold of the Hyades Republic, a bastion that housed the bulk of its military might.

But when corruption seeped down from the north, it did not come as a sudden invasion—it crept, infected, and transformed.

Half the Republic's forces fell to cultist influence, and the rest were swiftly overwhelmed. Besieged from within and without, Morzeth collapsed. What remained was no longer a republic stronghold, but a cornerstone of the Demon Empire's expansion.

Leon's decision to strike Morzeth first was far from arbitrary.

Of all enemy holdings, it lay closest to Solfea—close enough to threaten the Solaris House at any moment. Left unchecked, it would become a dagger poised at the heart of their power. Yet proximity was only part of its importance.

Morzeth occupied a critical position between Hyarum, the capital of the Holy Church, and Eshon, ancestral seat of the Elune House. If the Holy Church chose to march upon the Elune House due to their alliance with the Solaris House, the city could serve as a strategic buffer, a chokehold between nations.

The land itself only compounded its value.

Encircled by mountains and fed by a vast water network that sustained dozens of surrounding towns, Morzeth was more than a fortress—it was a lifeline.

Should the Demon Empire choose to corrupt its waters, the devastation would ripple outward, poisoning every settlement along the borders of Eshon and Solfea. For Leon, the conclusion was inevitable. Morzeth could not be ignored.

It had to be taken back… at any cost.

"What's the situation in Morzeth?"

Leon asked while seated in his tent. By his side were the advisors to Eldorin, as well as the core members of their intelligence branch, Echelon. And leading them was a familiar figure, one that Leon and Amon knew painfully well.

Bane Vallen.

"After infiltrating the city, we found that there are about five hundred and twenty-two Demons. Around two thousand cultists. And more shockingly… we found traces of Apostles."

"Apostles? Haven't they gone into hiding?"

Leon raised his brow in confusion. The Apostles of the Demon Cult were their greatest assets. Ever since Amon beat them during the battle for Zephys, they'd completely vanished off the map. Even when the Goddess ripped open the fabric of spacetime and allowed the Demons to invade, the Apostles didn't appear to wreak havoc on the world.

"Unclear, but there's no way I was mistaken… those mana signatures are Apostles."

"Do you know how many of them there are?"

"Two… And from the looks of it, they are the Apostles of Vengeance… Dante and Damien."

"Those two…"

Though Leon was familiar with all the Apostles, some were etched more deeply into his memory than others.

Among them, two stood above the rest—Dante and Damien, the first Apostles he had ever crossed blades with.

Back then, they had already been formidable. Now, they were something else entirely. Over the years, the pair had grown at a terrifying pace. Every encounter revealed sharper instincts, greater control, and a power that seemed to evolve without limit.

Leon had not been idle either; his own strength had risen alongside the tides of war, but no matter how far he advanced, they were always there, matching him step for step. Their last clash in Zephys still lingered in his mind.

Even then, Leon had been unable to truly bring them down.

It was only when the Solaris Saint seized control of his body that the balance had tipped—only then had he stood a chance.

But now… Leon was fully confident in fighting them.

"Okay, if it's those two… I have a plan. What about the rest? Any other signs of Apostles?"

"Not that I can find, but… my power is limited."

Bane spoke dejectedly despite achieving a huge merit. Ever since he was influenced by the Pope of the Utopia Church to betray Amon, he's been slowly trying to prove his worth back to both Amon and the members of Eldorin.

He took on the most dangerous missions, some might even call suicidal. His intelligence-gathering capabilities grew rapidly, as did his overall strength. And finally, his loyalty became ironclad, so that it was never in doubt any more.

If anything, Amon and the rest of Eldorin had long forgiven him. Alas, the man himself couldn't trust himself and still yearned to prove himself to Eldorin… and more importantly, Amon.

"No, if you can't find anyone else, it's likely that… or one of the Apostles has hidden themselves too well. Either way, we can't fault you. Good job, Bane. Continue with your activities."

"Yes, Commander!"

Bane bowed his head and disappeared from the spot, as if he never existed in the first place. His stealth techniques were so spectacular that even Leon, one of the most powerful Knights on the planet, had to strain his mental faculties just to get a general direction of where Bane disappeared to.

Sighing, Leon looked out of his tent and at the dark spires of Morzeth.

Alas, his attention wasn't primarily on Morzeth, but the lands beyond it.

It was the land that he grew up in.

The land that people he loved still stayed in.

And the land… that Ellahan was in.

Hyarum… The capital of the Holy Church… had just declared a holy war against the Solaris House. And the person who ordered that war was none other than Ellahan… or to be more precise, the Goddess who inhabited Ellahan's body.

"... will there be a way to save Ella?"

Leon thought out loud, but no one replied to him.

Even Amon and Yue couldn't guarantee that Ellahan could be saved, and with good reason. It was the Goddess that they were up against. The primordial entity that has ruled the world from Heaven since time immemorial.

But even if the odds were against him… Leon was never going to give up.

"No… I must save her… Just wait for me, Ella."

As Leon muttered those words, Venya stormed into the tent, her face pale and her expression urgent. Leon stopped his brooding and turned to address the God Archer.

"What happened?"

"The Holy Church dispatched a Paladin Order to face us… and the one leading it is Sir Arthur."

"... so it has come to this."

Leon drew in a slow, steady breath, letting it anchor him as he slipped into the familiar weight of battle. The last traces of boyish innocence faded from his blue eyes, dimming like a dying ember.

In their place rose something colder, sharper—a resolve forged through war and loss.

What remained was no longer a boy, but a hardened warrior—one who would step onto the battlefield without hesitation, if it meant protecting those he loved.

"I will face them."