From Trash to Demon Lord: I Can Turn Heroines Into Villainesses

Chapter 85: The Saint Against the Demon Lord...

Nox’s hands remained pressed against the altar.

The white light vanished in an instant.

The endless void transformed back into the Hall of the Saints.

The sounds of battle crashed back all at once.

Explosions.

Steel clashing.

Shouts.

Heavy breathing.

Nox slowly opened his eyes.

The enormous portal still stood before him.

Its surface looked like dark water.

Gentle ripples spread across it.

As if another world waited beyond it, ready to be discovered.

"...Mireveil."

He remembered the Goddess’s words.

That forgotten swamp.

Those lands abandoned by the gods themselves.

His future empire.

He still didn’t understand how a simple portal could lead there.

But he didn’t have time to figure it out.

Another explosion echoed behind him.

Nox turned his head.

The battle had only gotten worse.

Catherine lay collapsed against one corner of the hall.

She was breathing with difficulty.

Her clothes had been shredded by countless cuts.

Felix circled her anxiously in the form of that glowing yellow sphere.

Misty struggled to get back to her feet.

Every time she put weight on one leg, she winced in pain.

Even so, she kept trying to stand.

Claws had taken shelter behind several shattered pews.

His white fur was stained with blood and dust.

Audrey stood in front of him.

A dagger in one hand.

The dark bow in the other.

Protecting him.

Meanwhile...

Only two women were still facing the Saint.

Dawn and Tessa.

They attacked from opposite directions.

Dawn’s frozen katana collided against a spear wrapped in flames.

Gabriel twisted the weapon.

Electricity instantly raced along its shaft.

Lightning exploded around the blade.

Dawn slid back only a few centimeters.

Tessa seized the opening.

Her golden spear came crashing down, engulfed in the Phoenix’s flames.

Gabriel smiled.

He barely moved his wrist.

The two spears collided.

Fire exploded.

Ice shattered.

Yet the Saint continued smiling.

He was too fast.

And far too strong.

Dawn drove her katana into the floor once more.

"Freeze!"

Ice raced across the marble.

It surged toward the Saint’s feet.

Gabriel simply allowed flames to spread over his boots.

The ice melted before it could even reach him.

"Was that all?"

The princess gritted her teeth.

Tessa charged again.

The Phoenix’s flames illuminated the entire hall.

Gabriel caught the strike with his bare palm.

Energy immediately began flowing through his body once again.

"No..."

Dawn whispered.

"Not again!"

The Saint smiled.

All the accumulated power erupted at once.

BOOOOOOM.

The shockwave tore through the chamber.

Dawn was blasted away.

Her back slammed into a pillar.

Tessa was hurled straight toward the altar.

Nox stepped forward and caught the redhead before she crashed into the stone.

He held her by the shoulders.

Tessa was breathing heavily.

"...I’m sorry."

Nox slowly shook his head.

"No."

He helped her lean against the altar.

"You’ve already done enough."

The redhead looked up at him.

For a moment...

She thought she was looking at someone else.

Nox seemed taller.

Broader.

His muscles strained against the fabric of his suit.

Even his presence had changed.

It felt infinitely heavier.

The demon gave her a faint smile.

"My turn."

Tessa stared into his eyes.

Then slowly nodded.

"...Be careful."

She let herself slide down beside the altar.

Far too exhausted to keep fighting.

Nox took a deep breath.

He could feel that energy coursing through every corner of his body.

The energy the Goddess had just given him.

His muscles pulsed.

His veins felt as though they were burning.

It was completely different from Demonic Frenzy.

He wasn’t losing control.

It was simply...

Power.

Darkness began to wrap around him.

The Marauder’s Mask materialized over his face once more.

One of his Demonic Dual Knives appeared in one hand.

Ashbringer formed in the other.

The black rifle fully materialized.

Dark runes slowly spread across its barrel.

Nox looked up.

Just in time.

Gabriel had reached Dawn again.

He grabbed her by the throat.

Lifting her slightly off the ground.

The princess struggled to free herself.

She couldn’t.

The Saint slowly raised one hand toward her face.

He brushed two fingers across her lips.

Dawn’s eyes began to glow.

A white energy slowly emerged from her body.

The same light.

The very same one Nox had seen when Tessa lost the title of Phoenix Inquisitor.

Gabriel smiled.

"It seems..."

He stared directly at the princess.

"...your father has finally stopped hesitating."

Dawn’s eyes widened slightly.

"What... are... you...?"

"At last, he decided to listen to me."

The Saint’s smile widened.

"It was long overdue to strip his rebellious daughter of her title."

The energy continued flowing out of Dawn’s body.

Then...

Black chains violently burst from the floor.

They wrapped themselves around the Saint’s neck.

Gabriel’s eyes widened.

The chains yanked with tremendous force.

He was forced to release the princess.

Dawn collapsed unconscious onto the marble floor.

Gabriel struggled to break free.

But the chains only tightened further.

Nox slowly raised one hand.

The Saint was violently dragged several meters across the floor.

Pulled directly toward him.

Ashbringer was already aimed at his face.

His finger squeezed the trigger.

The Ash Bullet tore through the air.

But just before impact...

Gabriel vanished.

His body dissolved completely into white smoke.

The bullet passed straight through the cloud.

Without hitting anything.

The chains lost their target.

The smoke gathered together several meters away.

Gabriel reappeared.

He adjusted his collar and smiled.

"Interesting."

With a casual motion, he shattered the dark chains.

The links exploded into smoke.

"Finally..."

His eyes gleamed.

"...it’s time to have fun with someone who might actually be worthy of standing against me."

Nox didn’t answer.

He simply threw one of his daggers.

The blade spun several times.

Gabriel tried to dodge.

But he was too late.

The dagger buried itself deep into one of his legs.

The Saint staggered backward.

He looked down at the wound in surprise.

Then...

He felt the pain.

Demonic energy spread from the cut.

His flesh burned.

As if fire had ignited from within.

The smile slowly vanished from his face.

"...How unpleasant."

He ripped the dagger free in one swift motion.

Watching as blood slowly dripped onto the floor.

"Of course."

He looked back at Nox.

"A demon would fight like this."

Nox summoned his second Demonic Dual Knife.

Holding it alongside Ashbringer.

His voice remained perfectly calm.

"I have to protect my women."

He took a step forward.

"You’re nothing but a pawn of the gods."

Another step.

"A minor pain in the ass."

Shadows began spreading beneath his feet.

Gabriel slowly raised his spear.

Electricity surged through the weapon once more.

Behind the mask, Nox smiled.

"And the worst part..."

He pointed one of his daggers directly at the Saint.

"...is that you’ve just crossed paths with the future Demon Lord."

The silence lasted only a moment.

Both of them smiled at the same time.

And they understood exactly the same thing.

There was no longer any room for words.

Only one of them would walk out of that chamber alive.