Meanwhile, far away from the chaos, Axton's clone was busy fighting off a group of demons.

His blade tore through the last of them with a swift arc, blood splattering across the ground.

Just as he was about to consume some more of their remains, absorbing their flesh to forge another Hell's Key, the surviving demons abruptly turned and began to retreat.

Axton's clone froze mid-motion, watching as they sprinted back toward the direction they had come from.

For a moment, confusion crossed his face. Then, slowly, a smirk curled across his lips.

"They're running back…" he muttered.

His gaze flickered with amusement. "Looks like the real me pulled it off."

******

"What do we do?!" one of the guards hissed, his voice trembling.

"I don't know!" the other shouted back. "The king will kill us if we don't open it soon!"

Their panic deepened. They could already imagine what the Ox Demon King would do once he arrived. If he suspected them of betrayal, their lives would end before they could utter a single word of defense.

Both guards exchanged terrified glances, knowing they were doomed either way.

"It's… empty."

The demons stared in disbelief.

The armoury, the pride of the Horn Castle, stood untouched, at least on the surface.

Not a single sword, axe, spear or any weapon at all was out of place.

Not one chest opened.

Not one trace of intrusion.

Everything was perfectly arranged as it was usually known to be, almost mocking them with its calmness.

Then one of the demons noticed it. "The bracelet… it's gone!"

The box on the podium remains empty.

A wave of confusion spread through the ranks. How could someone enter the king's armoury without breaking the protective seal? No magic traces… nothing.

They had never heard of anything like this before.

They didn't know that the thief they were looking for had already vanished into thin air.

Axton had escaped.

He had waited patiently for the right moment, and the instant the demons dispelled their own barrier to investigate, he reactivated his broken but miraculous skill — [Non Entity].

The moment it activated, his existence was erased again.

No form. No presence. No trace.

Now, Axton was already far from the Horn Castle, sprinting through the road outside the fortress. His breathing was steady but heavy, his mind replaying the close call he'd just survived.

"Too close," he muttered. "If I'd been a second slower…"

He didn't finish the thought. There was no need.

His only goal now was to reunite with his clone before the demons reorganized. But before he could make much progress, a deep roar split the sky.

They had found him!

A sound like thunder, followed by a chilling war cry that shook the very ground.

"You think you can get away! Not after stealing from me, you don't!"

The sky darkened as a massive shadow descended.

Axton's eyes widened. "Oh, shit!"

From above, the Ox Demon King descended like a meteor, his enormous spear spinning in his hands like a fan of death. Each rotation ripped through the air, producing a high-pitched whistle that made Axton's skin crawl.

Behind him, the sky filled with streaks of crimson and black — an army of demons following their king into battle.

"Of course he'd bring the whole army," Axton hissed, drawing in a deep breath as he prepared to dodge.

The Ox Demon King landed with a tremendous presence that was befitting of the status he possessed.

*Boom*

The tip of his spear pierced the earth, and the impact shattered the ground in a massive explosion.

Dust and rocks blasted outward as cracks spread in all directions like a spider's web, sinking the terrain more than a hundred meters deep.

Axton barely managed to leap aside before the shockwave hit, tumbling across the dirt before catching himself mid-roll.

"What… what a monstrous power," he breathed, staring at the crater.

The Ox Demon King snorted, hot steam shooting from his nostrils.

His blood-red eyes glared straight toward Axton's direction. Even without seeing him, he could feel the human's life force.

He pointed his spear toward the rocks. "Come out, ant. I know that didn't kill you."

Demons landed one after another, their heavy feet shaking the already-broken ground.

Axton crouched low, heart racing.

'That thing is on a different level. Just one swing could flatten me.'

He peeked over the rocks, watching the army form a wide circle around their king. The air crackled with energy.

The Ox Demon King was beyond furious. The theft of his treasured bracelet was not just a loss, it was humiliation. He had ordered his council of mages to find the intruder at any cost.

And they had delivered.

Using a massive location spell, the mages pinpointed Axton's position and even opened a transportation formation large enough to deploy an army directly onto the field.

Now, he was surrounded.

Axton clicked his tongue. "I can't outrun that many. Guess I'll have to fight."

He summoned his weapon and also prepared to use the effects of [Battle God] to the maximum seeing how he was going up against an army of demons.

His pulse quickened, his stats surging as the skill began to calculate.

There were about a little over two thousand demon soldiers here.

That meant over two thousand sources for his Battle God talent to draw a single attack point from.

His strength spiked instantly, boosting his base attack power by 2000+.

The Ox Demon King lunged forward without warning, his massive frame moving with terrifying speed. His spear sliced through the air, producing a sonic boom that tore through trees and shattered rocks.

Axton blocked with his sword, but the impact threw him back like a ragdoll, sending him back a couple of metres.

He skidded across the dirt, leaving a long trail behind him. His arms trembled from the sheer force of that single blow.

"Still standing?" the king growled, playing with the spear skillfully before landing it with grace over his shoulder.

Clearly, the ox demon king was a seasoned fighter.

"Barely," Axton muttered, forcing a smirk.

The Ox Demon King attacked again — slashes, thrusts, and wide sweeps that tore the ground apart each time.

The earth shook violently with every strike.

Axton parried, ducked, rolled, and dodged with every ounce of focus he had.

Sparks flew into the air when the blades of their weapons met each other.

The nearby demons tried to close in to assist their king, but the Ox Demon King barked a furious order. "Stand back! This one is mine!"

The demons froze immediately, refraining from their initial plans.

They knew better than to interfere after such an order.

Axton grinned, breathing heavily. 'That's your first mistake.'

He adjusted his stance, because as long as the demon army remained around the king, Axton's power continued to climb.

The more of them present, the stronger he became.

'Keep your army close, Your Majesty,' Axton thought. 'You're feeding me power without even realizing it.'

Even with the buffs, though, the Demon King's sheer might was overwhelming. Axton had to think fast.

He clenched his fists, summoning the King Griffin Cloak.

The feathery cloak materialized on him, swaying slightly before bursting outward. A couple of majestic griffins appeared, their wings spreading wide as they screeched into the sky.

The Ox Demon King's eyes narrowed. "Griffins? Here?"

Axton snapped his fingers. "Get him!"

The griffins swooped down with blinding speed, forcing the king to parry multiple attacks at once. Each swing of his spear struck one from the sky, but the others kept coming.

And in that brief distraction, Axton moved.

His fist glowed white-hot, wrapped in dense energy.

"Let's see how you like this!"

He charged forward, his entire body seemed to shake with the overwhelming force of his buffed stats.

[Supreme Iron Fist]

His punch connected squarely with the Ox Demon King's chest.

The resulting shockwave was deafening.

*Boooommmm*

The king's enormous body was launched backward, crashing through several layers of rock and collapsing a section of the cliff. The ground quaked violently from the impact.

Nearby demons were blown away by the sheer force that was generated from the impact.

Some turned to ashes before they even hit the ground.

When the dust settled, a massive crater lay where the king had fallen.

Axton stood in the center of the battlefield, panting heavily, his right fist still crackling with energy.

"Damn…" he muttered, flexing his hand. "That actually worked."

The griffins circled above, screeching triumphantly.

But deep down, Axton knew it wasn't over. Not yet.

From within the crater, a low rumble echoed, followed by the sound of heavy breathing and cracking bones.

The Ox Demon King's silhouette began to rise, his horns glowing a fiery red.

Axton's smile faded.

"Round two, huh?"

The king's deep voice boomed across the battlefield, his aura exploding outward.

"You've made me bleed, human…"

The very air trembled.

"…now I'll make you wish you'd never stepped foot in this place!"

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