As the girl turned her back and ran away, two transformed demons suddenly charged at her.
BAM!
“Kyaah!”
I grabbed the neck of the closest one and swiftly twisted it. Then I quickly pursued the other one.
Just as its long snout was about to tear the girl’s head apart, I barely pulled its tail. I climbed up its neck and delivered a series of powerful strikes to its head and eyes with my fists.
GWAKEK!! GWEEEK!!
The pig-like beast let out a few roars so loud they could shake mountains, then fell to the ground with a THUD.
The girl made brief eye contact with me before turning back and hastily fleeing into the darkness.
And from behind, I heard a familiar voice I had heard before.
“Isn’t this the friend the young lady brought?”
The steward who greeted us yesterday and explained various things wore a chilling smile.
Every time the headlights flickered in his eyes, a reddish hue glinted.
“I’m sure I mentioned to avoid going out at night. You really are trouble incarnate…”
“…Was it a demon?”
“That word is a bit unpleasant. There’s a proper title that’s been chosen for us, you know.”
“Shut your mouth. What the hell are you doing here?”
“Do you think a simpleton like you would understand? How could a buffoon grasp a sacred enterprise?”
It was a fairly polite retort, but his tone spilled deep-rooted hatred toward humans.
Of course, I felt the same turmoil inside. The old memories that surface every time I deal with these beasts always bring me pain.
I scanned the surroundings with a quick flick of my gaze. The thugs who had been disguised as workers or guards had long since reverted back to their true forms. They were snorting and drooling.
Judging by the single horn and their bulk, most appeared to be third-class demons. They were closer to beasts than sentient beings, with a primitive mindset.
However, one who was mimicking the enthusiastic young steward still maintained a human appearance. He studied me with an eerie gaze.
If there was a tricky opponent here, it would be him. Given his ability to mimic humans competently and command the third-class beings, he seemed to be at least a second-class demon.
I recalled the faint scent of the one I had fought yesterday. Even in human disguise, if the scent of a beast still leaked through, it meant he was quite a formidable individual. He hadn’t been able to mask all his vigor properly.
Getting distracted by Yeon Minha’s sweet particle scent had been a painful mistake.
GRR…
Bloop…
The encirclement formed by the bipedal beasts gradually closed in on me.
“You’ve got some guts, but do you really think you can take down this whole pack alone?”
“…Well, it doesn’t look impossible.”
Pfft. “You should know your limits. Too bad for you. When you die, that girl will be back in our hands.”
The one who still looked human let out a hearty laugh. The human etiquette had all but vanished by now.
I made more retorts to buy time.
Normally, decapitating beings like these would be a piece of cake. Yet, due to the weapons ban in private properties, I’d left my blade in the cradle.
It wasn’t just that; the tricky part about tackling demons is their multifaceted skills. Their physical durability is immense, and those of the second class can also cast dark magic.
Even if you manage to block their dark magic, you’d have to deal with physical abilities several times superior to that of a human.
I could handle the third-class demons with my current strength, but the real issue lay with that mimic of a steward.
As the demon’s rank increases, the number of horns grows, and it becomes exponentially stronger in both physical and dark magic prowess.
Consequently, they recommend having at least three mages organized to face second-class demons due to their tricky nature.
I tried to raise my predictions to more than four routes, but perhaps it was due to insufficient recovery; the pain gripping my heart hadn’t eased and wasted my magical formulas.
Was it even feasible to handle that one with my current level?
Ugh…
The demons slowly closed the distance. I stopped thinking and prepared for a fight.
Why had these beasts crawled into a private property considered the safest in the country? What was this “sacred enterprise” they babbled about? Why had they kidnapped people?
I could worry about it after I got out alive.
The distance shrank to the point where I could even feel the beasts’ breath and odor. At some point, I started counting them in my mind.
One, two.
Each time I counted, they bared their teeth and fidgeted as if ready to pounce at any moment.
And three.
Just as if they were waiting, the beasts all lunged at me at once.
Each one’s sharp teeth and heavy paws would be a lethal strike, but due to their massive size, they had plenty of gaps between them.
I started dodging them and took them down one by one.
I aimed directly at their vital and internal organs, and if that didn’t work, I smashed their skulls down to the ground.
Their whole bodies would shake and quiver, then they would lay still, not moving.
If that didn’t work, I would dig out their eyes with my fingers.
After clawing at them in agony, I would twist their necks from behind.
GWAKEK! GWEK!
The howls from the beasts were disturbingly loud, disorienting my senses. The ground was soaked with blood and grime, emitting an unbearable stench. The only consolation was that they were falling one by one as time went on.
POOF!
“Haah… Hah…”
I kicked the corpse of the last dog-like demon and moved towards the high-ranking demon observing from a distance.
The face he had once wore with sadistic glee while mimicking a human was now twisted with shock.
“Haah… I told you it wouldn’t be impossible.”
“Y-You dare, revolution warriors…!”
He mumbled at me in a voice dripping with rage.
“Your level is far too pathetic for a warrior. Let’s end this quickly. You don’t look much different yourself.”
“This bastard…!”
The demon’s temper flared at my dismissal, his inherent nature reflecting that of most demons. Suddenly, particles whipped through the air as the atmosphere swirled around him, resembling those of a powerful storm.
His body expanded, taking on the characteristics of almost a first-class demon. His bronze skin contorted, muscles bulging, and a long, horse-like snout elongated as multiple horns twisted out from his forehead and behind his ears.
“…Hah.”
Seeing five or more ferocious horns made me involuntarily sigh. This indicated he was a powerful second-class demon, almost bordering on first-class status.
ROOOAAAR!
The transformed demon immediately crouched down and jumped toward me. When I rolled away, a powerful shockwave blasted out in all directions.
Then he spread his palm wide and began murmuring something in the beast’s language. A fearsome crimson sphere grew larger as it expanded.
Just before he could hurl the completed sphere, I maximized the ripple near my heart.
CLANG!
A sound like shattering glass erupted, causing the sphere to disperse into the air. The creature’s horse-like head blinked stupidly as it stared bewilderedly at its open palm.
Natural defenses had been allowed during transformation, but dark magic was another thing altogether. I had no weapon and couldn’t afford to allow someone to carelessly cast dark magic.
Seizing the opportunity while he was bewildered, I quickly closed in toward his underside. I threw a punch toward where its insides were clustered, but all I heard was the sound of my fist striking against something metal rather than a pained roar.
BAM!
Regaining his composure, the demon swung its gigantic claws at me, forcing me to retreat again. I could somewhat handle a third-class demon, but dealing with a second-class demon bare-handed felt impossible. One more of that and my wrist might snap off.
…
Suddenly an idea struck me as I glanced at the horns sprouting from his head. Perhaps I could find a way.
The demon who had pushed me away repeatedly tried to flap its hands to cast dark magic again with grunts. But could he really?
Eventually, the beast charged in again, its hefty hooves pounding the ground as it jumped toward me. I narrowly dodged in time.
SCRIIITCH!
The sound of claws scraping against my mask made my vision blur for an instant. I shook my head, trying to dispel the sudden wave of anxiety.
The hulking monster reached to grab me with its massive arms. This time, I narrowly dodged its grasp and used its arm for leverage to leap onto its neck from behind.
GACK!!
The creature thrashed wildly, attempting to claw at me with its sharp nails.
Siiiing!
“Ugh…!”
I tried my best to evade, but with space so limited, I couldn’t dodge all its attacks. Eventually, several claws grazed my body. The sting of the nails’ poison seeped in, snapping me back to reality.
With one hand clutched tightly at its nape, I reached and grabbed one of its sharp horns.
With all my strength, I twisted as hard as I could, ripping the horn clean off with a SNAP.
GAAAH!! GAAAH!!
Wreaking havoc from the pain, the beast could no longer hold back and fell, rolling over. I saw the crimson magic flee from the broken horn, escaping into the air.
PFFT! PFFFT!
The monster, now headless, glared at me with its red-glowing eyes, the slit pupil filled with indescribable fury.
The horn was their pride, and it had been defiled, leaving it deliberating in madness. This was something I longed for.
KEWK!
Its muscles coiled like a spring, then it shot toward me with a furious roar. I rolled sideways to evade, and its head smashed into the concrete wall behind me.
CRASH!!
The walls of the building crumbled as it crushed under its own weight. Before the creature could get up, I leapt onto its back.
I then plunged the horn into the area above its heart and stomped down with all my might.
GAAK! KUWAHK…
The beast convulsed in pain, thrashing wildly, but after a few seconds, it finally went still.
“Haah… Hah…”
I finally exhaled the breath I had held in. The poison-inflicted wound throbbed, but it was too early to rest.
I immediately walked toward the windowless building where the demons had been dragging away the sack containing a person. As I turned the heavy iron door, a wave of the pungent smell of blood and decay assaulted me.
What on earth had they been doing inside that they spoke of such a grand “enterprise”?
Following the door, I descended the staircase leading underground. As I did, the rancid odor intensified, making my head spin. Somewhere, I heard the dull sound of water dripping.
And soon, a shocking scene began to unfold before my dark-adapted eyes.
A colossal machine filled one wall of the basement, buzzing with activity. Inside a translucent storage facility, dark-red liquid swirled ominously.
Just the sight of the horrifically piled bodies gave me a clear idea of what that liquid’s identity was.
Blood was dripping down the lengthy hoses connected to the machine. Below, a vast circular magic formation sprawled across the floor. Each drop of blood ignited a flickering crimson line, gradually growing more vibrant.
Unlike the neat, point-based, modern magical schematics, here had complex ritualistic symbols etched in curved lines.
Even without deep knowledge of magic, I could immediately recognize this. It was a plague magic formation that released dense clouds of poison.
A large-scale dark magic aimed at sapping vitality from uninitiated beings and causing illness.
While it took considerable time to draft due to its massive scale, its effectiveness had made it a frequently attempted method of terror where the eye of surveillance was lax.
But that wasn’t the end of the peculiarity. It wasn’t just immense; lines extended from the outer magic formation, reaching beyond the building’s boundaries.
It was easy to recall the locations connected by those lines — the sites where the Jeokhwa Family had other facilities.
If similar magic formations were established there, all interconnected, it would amount to one colossal magic formation spanning this entire area, something I’d never seen before.
This place wasn’t far from the city’s center either, and it was situated significantly above sea level.
If the magic activated, it could easily engulf the heart of the capital.
Naturally, the number of casualties would be incalculable.
My swirling head began racing.
The individuals in disguise as workers and laborers were indeed the demons present here, yet their ability to colonize such a noble family’s property so brazenly suggested the complicity of someone entrenched.
Among the Jeokhwa family, only one person could ensure their activities in silence and indifference.
The head of the Jeokhwa Family — Yeon Minha’s father.
“Oh no…!”
I swiftly dashed outside the warehouse.
This place had long ago become a nest of evil.
I did not know who her father was before, but at the very least, he was definitely not the person Yeon Minha had known.
Fury intensified, and I felt an urgency to escape.
When I finally stepped outside, something suddenly flew directly into my chest. It was her personal crow from earlier, the one that had brought me Yeon Minha’s note.
I was curious what it was still doing here, but the mournful cries it emitted tugged at my attention.
Despite its ordinary appearance, the crow was a first-class beast, equipped with the intelligence to comprehend human speech, and its field skills were so highly developed that it was impossible to hunt it with typical weapons.
Due to its remarkable utility, it was closer to a spirit than a beast.
There must be a reason for this kind of behavior.
“…Are you going to lead me to your master?”
CAW!
As if waiting just for those words, the crow began to flap its wings slowly, guiding me into the darkness.
Holding my anxiety-stricken heart tight, I turned my back on the corpses of demons and the suspicious basement, closely following the little bird.
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