“…”
Rutan’s expression hardened.
He was quick-witted. He’d been like that for a very long time.
After all, it was quite obvious how a Demon who didn’t have a power would be treated by his own people.
It was much better than the unintelligent Demons or slaves. That much was certain. But that was all.
They were awkward beings whose treatment was far lesser than even the lowest Demon Noble.
The Demons referred to them as Demonic Humans.
If one looked at how the Demons treated the human race, one would realise just how humiliating such a title was.
But Rutan was different from the other Demonic Humans. There was something about him that was inherently different.
It was desire.
The greed in his heart was equal to the high ranking Demon Nobles’.
He wanted to get everything he wanted.
He wanted to be stronger than everyone else.
He wanted to go to the highest position and look down on all of the weaklings.
That was why he joined the company. Because there was no other place where the transaction of Soul Crystals was more active.
The number of souls contained in a Soul Crystal was directly linked to a Demon’s level.
If he had just 100,000 souls, he would be able to grow strong enough to not be pushed around by most Demon Nobles, even if he didn’t have a power.
And to do that, the most important thing was to somehow survive.
And Rutan survived brilliantly. He proved his worth, even earning the recognition of the capricious high ranking nobles.
Rutan was quick-witted.
Nevertheless.
‘This man…’
Rutan looked at Lukas.
He looked at this man who said that he’d killed Duke Sandro and would soon kill him as well.
If another human had told him that, he would have laughed heartily in their face. In fact, he might have even sarcastically told them that they were ‘bluffing too hard’.
But this man…
He couldn’t understand. He didn’t know what he was.
He felt so weak that he could defeat him with just a finger. But he also felt like a monster that Rutan would not be able to scratch even if he tried his best.
It couldn’t possibly be the latter.
Rutan tried to make himself think this, but Lukas’ words reverberated as though they were stuck in his head.
If this man had really killed Duke Sandro…
‘…I have to try.’
Fwoosh-
A black haze of demonic energy surged around him.
It was completely different from before. Just the momentum from his aura became an intangible pressure enveloping the entire surrounding area.
“Kuk…”
“Huk.”
The faces of the hunters became pale because of this momentum. In the first place, most of the hunters had been swallowed by the ground. Their resistances and strengths were already as low as they could get.
Lukas shook his hand slightly.
Woosh.
“…huh?”
The momentum disappeared.
It had been hard for the hunters to breathe before, but now, they felt very comfortable. Their wounds were still there, but the pressure was gone and they felt much better.
Rutan’s expression stiffened even more. He bit his lip.
Right. Such a simple check was pointless.
Although he wasn’t a noble yet, his power was still comparable to most Counts. He’d only been able to snatch the position as host of the Chester Company because of his strength.
Rutan looked down.
Pieces of stone were scattered on the ground. It was the aftermath of his previous attack.
Rutan stomped the ground once again. However, it wasn’t to overturn the ground like he did before.
Boom!
The ground shook heavily, and dozens of stone pieces shot into the air.
Crack!
Rutan punched forward.
Following the sound of the air tearing, his fist collided with many of the pieces of stone floating in front of him.
Papapat!
These pieces of stone became lethal bullets, which shot towards Lukas. Because he put demonic energy in them, they wouldn’t be easy to block.
What would happen next was most important. After all, Rutan’s judgement would change depending on how Lukas reacted.
Rutan widened his eyes and paid attention to Lukas’ every move.
“You…”
Lukas murmured in a soft voice.
“…are very timid.”
“…!”
Despite the fierce roar of the pieces of stone piercing through the air, those words could still be heard clearly.
It was an insult.
This fact was clear to everyone who heard.
If anyone had told him this, even if it was a Demon who was stronger than himself, it would have been incredibly humiliating.
But this was different.
The moment he heard that voice, Rutan’s entire body became cold.
It was like his entire body had been soaked in freezing cold water, and the chill even crept into his bones.
Bang!
Suddenly, a piece of stone was sent flying back to him at an even faster speed.
This piece of stone brushed past Rutan’s face, but he didn’t even think about wiping the dripping blood.
His judgement was complete. Or, perhaps, it was his instinct.
‘Run..!’
He had to run away immediately.
He couldn’t win.
With that thought, Rutan immediately turned around and attempted escape.
Shuk-
But it was too late.
* * *
Lee Jong-hak blinked.
‘What just happened?’
He knew that his power could be considered at the peak of the hunters. This wasn’t a bluff or pride. Rather, it was an objective statement.
Lee Jong-hak was one of the strongest humans, whose numbers were now lower than one billion. He’d never felt like he was far behind anyone else while watching a battle.
Nevertheless, he had no idea what had just happened.
He’d only blinked once, but Rutan had died.
“…!”
Lee Jong-hak’s body had weakened. The fact of the matter was that he didn’t even have half as much power as when he was at his peak.
However, his eyesight remained the same. He was confident that he would have been able to track their movements even if his opponent was a Count.
But he couldn’t tell what Lukas did.
Did he miss his movement?
No.
Did he even move in the first place?
His back grew damp with cold sweat.
If this man, who had just killed Rutan, wanted it, Lee Jong-hak would have been dead as well.
He half-instinctively rubbed his throat.
Then Lukas moved.
Some of the hunters flinched when he moved. Some of them looked like they really wanted to run away, but because their bodies were still stuck in the ground, they couldn’t move.
Lukas didn’t seem to care about them as he walked to Rutan’s body.
Rutan had been decapitated. The surface of the cut was exceptionally clean. It was as if he had been cut by an incredibly sharp blade without any resistance.
However, let alone a weapon, Lukas didn’t even have a tree branch in his hand.
‘What did he cut him with?’
As Lee Jong-hak looked at him in confusion, Lukas took Rutan’s Soul Crystal and threw it to him.
After receiving it, he couldn’t help but ask.
“Why did you give this to me…?”
He himself hadn’t even realised that had started speaking politely.
Lukas didn’t respond to it as though he too hadn’t noticed the change in attitude.
“You should get them out.”
“Ah…”
That’s right.
Lee Jong-hak, Drisa and Allida exchanged glances before moving to free the other hunters. Then Min Ha-rin approached them with a bashful expression.
“You…!”
Allida looked at her with a joyful expression. That’s because she knew that Min Ha-rin had sacrificed herself for her sake.
“I’m glad you’re okay!”
“Yeah.”
“That’s a relief. I’m so happy.”
“…how did you get away?”
Unlike Allida, who was genuinely happy, Drisa looked at Min Ha-rin with a face filled with suspicion.
Min Ha-rin glanced at Lukas.
“He saved me.”
“How?”
“That…”
Lee Jong-hak shook his head when he saw Min Ha-rin hesitate with an embarrassed expression on her face.
“Let’s save the other hunters first. We can talk about this after.”
“…right.”
Lukas went back to the large boulder.
With a sweep of his hand, the camouflaged wall broke apart and a sturdy-looking steel door was revealed.
Although it had been left unattended for a long time, there were no signs of damage except for rust.
“Ah. Y-, you can only enter with the correct password.”
When Allida said this with a slightly anxious voice, Lukas stepped back without a word.
She glanced at him hesitantly before approaching the door.
At the side of the door was a small LCD number pad.
With her finger outstretched, she entered the password. But it was so dirty and stiff that she had to press so hard her finger tips became white.
[Password matches.]
[Welcome to the European Branch’s 11th Headquarters.]
Pshh-