—[Salem Ophecialis’ Diary] King Pae 2nd Year March 24th
A young knight from the Nobrieum family asked for an audience with the king.
The knight cried out, “Your Majesty, a demon has appeared. The demon had not only killed my family, but they forcefully violated my mother, sister, and fiancée in front of me and took them away. I want to find the rest of my family and take revenge against the demons, but to my greatest misfortune, I lack the strength to do so.”
Hearing this, the king, a renowned demon hunter, said, “Oh, is that so! They have been quiet for some decades, but it seems they are crawling back out again. Okay, I got it! I will take revenge in your place, so just wait a bit!” Despite his servants’ pleas, the king left the palace without anything but a single sword.
After a week, the king returned. Although he had been alone when he left, he came back with a line of demons treading behind him. Then he made all those demons kneel in a line and called the young knight forth again and said, “It took me a while because I caught that demon and everyone related to him, including, of course, his mother and father. I lost sight of their youngest son because of the troubles he stirred up, but I brought as many of the demon’s blood relatives as possible. Now, do as you wish with them.”
The young knight was stunned because he hadn’t expected the king to go this far; he pledged to follow the king’s orders like they were law.
“Give grace like the sea and revenge like a sharp blade. Should we get to the settlement?” And thus, taking an eye for an eye, the female demons were taken as slaves, and the male demons were sent to the goblin and orc tribes as settlement fees. The young knight was satisfied to see the demons live miserable lives as slaves or eventually lose their minds, and the incident made him swear utmost loyalty to the king once more.
* * *
Chi-Woo slowly got to his feet and looked up.
Haaaa— As if it was his first breath after a long time, he inhaled deeply and enjoyed the feeling in his mouth. “Hm—this fresh smell. It’s been so long.”
After borrowing Chi-Woo’s body, Philip stretched out both arms and looked down at himself. Rotating his arms and patting his legs, he nodded to himself.
“Good. Very good.” Then, looking satisfied, he continued, “How clean. This body is soo~ clean, I feel like a baby. It’s really not bad.”
Chi-Woo, who had given up authority over his body, didn’t feel too good about this. Although he shared the same vision as Philip, that was it; he had no access to any other senses.
‘Quickly! Everyone’s dying right now!’ Chi-Woo hissed at Philip.
“Hey disciple, remember these words. Being at ease is a privilege that only the strong can enjoy—”
Chi-Woo but him off by murmuring, ‘Nama Sandaruma—’
“Ah! I got it! I got it! Seriously!” Philip raised both hands in shock.
Fliiiiick! The club that Andras had kicked away zipped through the air on its own and landed on Philip’s hand.
“I have to be satisfied with just this club now. Well, it has a nice grip to it because of how thick it is.” Philip smacked the palm of his other hand with the club and spotted one figure. Hawa had backed away and was pouring medicine she got from Shadia onto her injuries. As their eyes met, Philip winked and said, “Hello? Beauty.”
“…” Hawa scowled. She thought Chi-Woo should quickly dive back into the fight since he was now awake. But besides wondering why he wasn’t dashing forward, she thought…something was a bit off about him. The air around him was different somehow. He no longer seemed like the Chi-Woo she knew.
“Why don’t you stay there and watch? This old man will soon take care of this.” He looked forward and put on a cruel smile Hawa had never seen on Chi-Woo’s face. The Chi-Woo she knew wasn’t someone who could smile so wickedly.
“Yaaaaaaah!” Soon afterward, Philip raised his club in the air and began to run toward Andras. “Hey, you demooon! Take this!” He ran straight while announcing to everyone that he was attacking from behind. Andras was in the process of attacking Snowy Mountain to get to Shadia, and he threw Chi-Woo only a glance over his shoulder before turning back forward. He seemed completely unconcerned with Chi-Woo and did not have his guard up. Since he was already aware of Chi-Woo’s skills, there was no need for him to properly face Chi-Woo… If his opponent had really been Chi-Woo, that was.
Philip changed his posture in the middle of running. He lowered and made a half circle with his arms, wielding the club inversely. Then, he arched his back and accelerated little by little. Andras stretched out his hand like he thought the whole thing was bothersome, and Philip’s club was about to hit him when…!
Philip’s feet twisted slightly to kick off the ground. The next moment, he abruptly shot forward, the subtle curve of his body the only warning. The club only grazed Andras’ stretched-out hand ever-so-slightly before moving past it.
“?” Andras realized that something was off and turned around, but it was too late. Philip didn’t even swing the club, but pushed it against Andras’ body as he rushed forward. At the contact, Andras quickly twirled his body around.
Crack! Andras felt a heavy thud on his body, and his mouth dropped open. Even in the midst of the pain, he tried to chase after Chi-Woo, yet couldn’t even spot him. Chi-Woo seemed to have disappeared without a trace. For a moment, Andras simply stared into empty air, but he quickly recovered when he felt a chilly sensation from behind his neck.
“Hey, hey.” Philip re-emerged behind Andras and jumped into the air. Like Chi-Woo had tried to do, he aimed for the back of Andras’ head and swung—before suddenly changing directions and lowering the club. Thus, Andras got hit in the back while trying to make a backward kick like he had done before and toppled over.
“You bastard! Kuh—!”
“What? Did you just call me a bastard? Huh? You little bastard! Little bastard!” Philip chuckled and swung the club rigorously at Andras.
“Wait, ah! Wait, ah! No, urgh! Kugh!” Eck!” Every time Andras tried to raise his arms and lift his head, the club landed on him. Andras floundered his limbs as he was beaten down relentlessly. And only after flurrying around and rolling a couple of times did Andras manage to escape from the ruthless torment of clubbing.
“W-What happened! So suddenly—!” Andras tried to get up quickly but staggered. “How—!” He stumbled again when he attempted to straighten himself. “Ugh, ugh…”He kept stumbling all over the place like he was too dizzy to have control over his body.
“Damn it. Shit. Wait, give me a moment.” Eventually, Andras kneeled on one leg and stretched out his hands as if he was pleading for more time. Drip. Black blood dripped down from both of Andras’ nostrils.
“Ah…” Andras looked stunned, and his head continued to bob up and down. In the end, he shook his head furiously and picked himself up. After trying with all his might, he finally managed to get up this time.
Andras was in a completely laughable state. The feathers on his owl face were disheveled, and blood soaked the areas around his nose. His two eyes looked empty and bruised. He looked incredibly rumpled and shabby; there was no trace left of the proud demon boasting to be the 63rd ranking demon of the Demon Empire.
“What is with this item?” Philip raised his club and whistled appreciatively. “All I did was imbue it with a bit of energy while striking the club down, and the impact ended up being so great.” Philip appeared astonished by the club’s abilities.
“Y-you bastard! What the hell happened!” Andras yelled in rage. Unlike before, his voice was laced with fear. Chi-Woo was likewise surprised. Even though he shared the same vision with Philip, he had missed Philip’s movements. Philip managed to change directions abruptly by just moving his feet a tiny bit.
‘What are you doing? Quickly end it!’ Chi-Woo called out.
“Huh? It’s already over.”
‘What?’
“As I said, the first blow is most important. The follow-through plays a part as well, but…” Philip raised the club. “I didn’t realize how impressive this thing was.” He swung around like he was showing it off, and Andras backed away in fright.
“It’s really no joke,” said Philip. “It’s better than most famous swords. Even though that guy has lost his powers… Ah, let me take my word back. It’s much better than a sword.”
“You bastard! What are you mumbling about all this time?!” Andras shouted. It seemed he had managed to regain some of his senses.
However, Philip completely ignored Andras and continued, “Hey, kid. You should share something this good with others. Don’t hoard it all for yourself. Don’t you know the joy of sharing?”
‘What are you talking about to share?’
“You said your progress system is created from collecting merits. I’m sure you will gain quite a bit by catching this guy.” Philip raised his voice after looking around. “Hey—ey! He’s almost at his end. He’s going to die soon. Everyone, come and take a bite to finish him off!”
All the other team members looked taken aback and confused, still reeling from the way Chi-Woo had suddenly turned the tide and beaten up the demon relentlessly. However, Philip continued to wave them over and yelled again, “What are you all doing! Quickly come and take a piece of him! Aren’t you going to get your share!?”
Their gazes changed then. They didn’t know what exactly had happened, but they knew what they needed to do now.
“You bastards…!” Andras trembled. “How dare you treat me like this…!”
“Just you wait for your turn.” Philip glided toward the demon like he was on water. Andras hurriedly moved backward when he got close.
“Watch closely.” Andras’ figure faded, leaving only shadows, and Philip trailed the movement with his eyes and said, “I’m going to evade with minimum effort for now.” Philip jumped while rushing forward and slanted his body; something black and sharp brushed past his ribs.
“And stop here! One, two!” Philip shouted. As soon as his feet touched the floor, he swung the club sideways. Bam! Bam! It sounded like a head was getting cracked.
“Agh! Agggh! Andras cried out like he was dying, his screams seemingly swaying sideways with him.
“This bastard still has the habit of swaying meaninglessly. Ah, that reminds me. Do you know why I said that friend of yours, Ru Amuh, didn’t need to learn swordsmanship?”
Twirling the club, Philip answered his own question with a chuckle, “It’s because that guy actually thinks.”
‘Think?’
“Yeah. Look at what just happened before. Your wide wings made it easy for your opponents to evade. If it had been Ru Amuh, he would have thought deeply starting from the first attack.” Philip continued, “He would have racked through his head if he should slice, swing, or thrust his sword at his opponent. And he would think about how his opponent would respond depending on which attack he made. And then he would think about how he should respond after that too.”
‘I-Is that even possible? To think all that in the middle of a fight?’
“It’s difficult since the thinking must be done at light speed and translated into actions. That’s why I called him a genius; he’s someone who can do such a thing.”
‘…’
“But don’t be too dejected. It’s only natural that you can’t do the same; there’s no way out of it. If a regular person wants to do the same, they’d have to accumulate a crazy amount of experiences and—”
“Urgggh! You are blabbering nonsense again…!” Andras groaned while clutching his side.
“Make it so that your body could react intuitively… Ah, quiet!” Philip sounded annoyed that he was interrupted and struck at Andras with the club. Andras desperately tried to block the attack, but the club curved toward him like a snake and evaded his defense, hitting his lips hard.
“Ugh, gurr, ugh, umph!” Andras covered his mouth and backed away again. As he did so, a small shadow revealed itself on top of the demon’s head. Nangnang had seized the opportunity.
“Urmph!” Shattered teeth and blood scattered out of his mouth. Andras wavered without knowing what to do as Chi-Woo rushed toward him again. At that moment, light exploded in front of his eyes like a camera flash. This was Shadia’s work. She was taking part in the final attacks at Andras as Philip had encouraged them to do so. As the sudden light burst out, Andras closed his eyes from the brilliance. That was all Nangnang needed.
Pwish! Nangnang’s sharp claws pierced deeply into Andras’ face.
“Ku—umph!” As he covered his face, Andras seemed to double over but straightened again—not out of his own will, but by another person’s force. A pair of arms reached out from behind Andras’ back and put him in a headlock, pulling his head back to expose his neck. Immediately, a dagger pierced through his skin and sliced his neck vertically.
Pwisssh! Blood poured out like a river bursting through a broken dam. Andras closed and opened his mouth, staring at Hawa. He saw her face beyond the silver hair that had fluttered toward him after her ambush. Hawa backed away quickly, as Snowy Mountain brought his clasped fists down with all his might.
Thud! The rooftop shook. Andras’ head dangled in the air after having half of his neck sliced, and his body bounced off the floor like a bouncy ball until he landed flat on the ground.
“Oh my. I told you guys to have a bite of him each, but you took quite the big share,” Philip complained to Snowy Mountain.
“It’s because my body is so big,” Snowy Mountain answered apologetically, and Philip burst into laughter with his head bowed.
Chi-Woo had a completely different presence after lending his body to Philip. Like his companions, Chi-Woo also became speechless. Then he remembered what Philip had told him after gaining control of his body.
[You know, being at ease is a privilege that only the strong can enjoy.]
Chi-Woo had a good sense of what these words meant now. Philip was able to help the expedition team because he was far stronger than Andras. And because he was stronger, he was able to toy with Andras just like how Andras had toyed with all of them before Philip joined the fight.
“Now, let’s finish this~ Finish this!” Philip hummed and dragged the club across the floor. Surprisingly, Andras was still alive. However, he was struggling to even breathe, his chest heaving up and down with the effort. Urgh, urgh! As Philip approached him, Andras looked away.
“Honestly, I didn’t expect to meet you like this,” Philip said in a quiet voice while crouching down next to Andras. “I wanted to tell you at least once. You know the name Andriana, right?”
Andras flinched.
“Of course you remember. She’s a humiliation on your side. Not only was she captured after the demons were defeated in a war against lowly humans, she lived a miserable life as a slave.” Then, Philip whispered something else after leaning right next to Andras’ face. Gurgling noises came out of the demon’s mouth. Philip couldn’t tell what exactly Andras was saying, but they didn’t sound pleasant.
“Hey bastard. Watch your mouth,” Philip said with an exaggeratedly stern face. “Even your mother called me master. How dare you address me that way!” Then, after tormenting Andras until the end, Philip got up and continued, “Anyways, good work. You took care of the monsters beforehand for your master’s safety. Furthermore, you made a clean magical circle for me to leave here peacefully. What a good slave you are. As expected, like mother, like son.”
Andras’ pupils shook as he trailed Philip’s motions, and Philip raised the club high in the air. Appearance-wise, Andras had never seen this man before, but something about him was familiar. No, rather than familiar, it was a memory Andras couldn’t forget. Yes. While he lived as a demon, there were only a few instances where he felt this much fear for a human. He recalled one such man—the man who was called the demon of demons.
‘No way—’ Andras looked at Philip in disbelief as Philip brought the club down.
Pop! Like the sound of a water balloon popping, Andras’ head exploded. His body twitched wildly once and went limp until it stopped moving. That was the end of the 63rd-ranking demon of the demon empire, Andras.