The first strike came at dawn.
Not from the ground.
From the sky.
The clouds above the Demon King's Tower tore apart as massive magic circles activated simultaneously. Thousands of floating warships emerged, their hulls carved with ancient runes, cannons glowing with compressed mana.
Below them, armies surrounded the plains in a perfect ring.
No escape.
No negotiation.
Only execution.
Inside the tower, the assistant looked up as alarms echoed through every floor.
"My King," he said calmly, "the extermination phase has begun."
Elowen leaned over the balcony, squinting. "Wow… that's a lot of flying boats. Are they fragile?"
"Yes," the assistant replied. "Extremely."
The Demon King stepped forward.
"Seal the exits," he said.
The tower obeyed.
The ground around the tower sank instantly, forming a massive crater. Any army too close vanished beneath collapsing earth.
In the sky, the first cannon fired.
A beam of divine energy screamed downward.
The Demon King raised one hand.
The beam stopped.
Not blocked.
Stopped.
Then it bent.
The reflected attack pierced through three warships in a straight line, turning them into fire and debris.
Panic erupted above.
"Fire everything!"
Thousands of spells rained down.
The Demon King snapped his fingers.
The sky folded.
Space twisted violently, compressing the spells into a single point before detonating upward. Half the fleet disappeared in a blinding explosion.
Elowen clapped. "That was pretty!"
The assistant did not blink.
---
On the ground, elite heroes charged.
Saints.
Sword masters.
Chosen warriors.
They never reached the tower.
From the gates, beasts poured out.
The Hell Basilisk roared, its gaze turning entire battalions to stone. The storm wolf leapt skyward, ripping warships apart with lightning-infused claws. Abyssal ravens blackened the sun.
The battlefield turned into a massacre.
Elowen frowned. "They're making a mess again."
She raised her hands.
Golden light spread across the plains.
Flowers erupted from blood-soaked ground, glowing softly. Wounded soldiers found their pain easing. Some even survived.
The assistant stiffened. "Princess… you're helping them."
"I know," she said gently. "They don't have to die to lose."
The Demon King watched silently.
The tower adjusted.
The flowers hardened, their roots binding enemies in place. Mercy became restraint.
"Efficient," the Demon King said.
Elowen smiled. "Right?"
---
High above, a command ship attempted retreat.
It failed.
A shadow pierced through its hull.
A spear.
The man in black armor stood atop the wreckage, smiling as flames consumed the ship beneath him.
"So this is the tower," he said. "It's louder than I expected."
His gaze locked onto the Demon King.
"Let's see if you still remember me."
The tower trembled.
The assistant turned sharply.
"My King… a hostile presence has entered the battlefield."
The Demon King's lips curved slightly.
"…Good."
Below, the world's first strike collapsed into chaos.
And for the first time—
The war had reached his doorstep.