Chapter 14
The Thousand-Faced Demon.
The owner, known as the demon with a thousand faces, possessed a peculiar curse.
To explain it simply: the moment anyone touched one of his eight hands, their face would vanish.
However, contrary to its simplicity, the curse was notoriously fearsome.
Once your nose and mouth disappear, you can no longer breathe.
Ugh, ugh!
At that moment, one of the rookie knights suffered at the hands of the Thousand-Faced Demon and lost his face.
With no mouth to speak, he could only let out a few strained sounds from his throat as he clutched his empty face, ultimately succumbing to death.
There was no way to survive if the healer wasn’t nearby.
“Push forward!”
But unlike the apprentice knight, Belorkin and the other knights were sounding the battle cry.
Though the Thousand-Faced Demon was strong for a three-star world eroder, he was no match for Belorkin and the knights.
Grrrrrr!
A whole arm of the Thousand-Faced Demon was set ablaze by Belorkin’s Ignis.
In the blazing fire that wouldn’t extinguish, the demon became even more enraged, wildly swinging its arms.
The demon’s strength was enough to easily crush a human’s body.
Even the mid-tier experts among the knights couldn’t take it head-on, forcing them to swiftly roll on the ground to avoid the attacks.
Boom!
But Belorkin was different.
He blocked the Thousand-Faced Demon’s hand head-on, even managing to strike back in the process.
Thanks to that, Belorkin’s sword found its mark again in the demon’s staggered state.
Whoosh!
“Don’t back down! I’ll create an opening!”
Belorkin’s overwhelming performance raised the morale of the knights once again.
In their hearts, Balheim was etched even deeper.
Even the fundamental fear of world erosion seemed conquerable as long as they had Balheim.
“Follow Lord Belorkin!”
The knights shouted, charging toward the Thousand-Faced Demon, sensing victory in the air.
Watching them, Belorkin felt his self-esteem swell once more.
Indeed, it was him.
This was Belorkin Balheim!
Just as a proud smile crossed his face, he suddenly thought about Kraush.
He couldn’t see Kraush among the knights.
Could it be that Kraush had perished at the demon’s hands?
If that were the case, the mission would be worth it, he thought, but then he spotted Kraush far away and felt a twinge of disappointment.
But it was fine.
As long as he felt the disparity in strength and trembled in fear of world erosion, everything would be successful.
However, what Belorkin saw in Kraush’s demeanor was anything but fear.
He was simply staring intently at something.
And it wasn’t a gaze directed at Belorkin.
What was that?
What on earth was he looking at?
Just as the question flashed through Belorkin’s mind…
Drip!
Suddenly, the sound of something dripping from the Thousand-Faced Demon’s face reached his ears.
Quickly turning his head, Belorkin was frozen in shock at what he saw.
Black blood gushed from every facial orifice of the Thousand-Faced Demon.
Realizing the abnormality, Belorkin immediately tried to distance himself.
Crackle!
Black sparks coursed all over the demon’s body.
Belorkin’s eyes widened in disbelief at the never-before-seen phenomenon.
Yet, he immediately raised his sword.
He thought they had to kill the Thousand-Faced Demon right away.
“Everyone, we need to kill the Thousand-Faced Demon now!”
Belorkin shouted as he brought his sword down at the demon.
Thwack!
But his sword failed to cut through the demon’s inky black body.
Despite infusing it with aura, he couldn’t slice through it.
When Belorkin narrowed his eyes, the demon’s body began to swell and turn mottled.
Realizing that the knights following him had not provided any backup in the chaos, he cried out:
“What the hell are you doing?!”
Could it be that the knights of Balheim had lost their nerve in front of the Thousand-Faced Demon?
But when he turned his head, he saw that all the knights’ faces were completely blank.
Belorkin’s pupils widened as he beheld the sight of his compatriots standing there with empty faces.
“Uh?!”
All at once, he realized one side of his vision had vanished.
As he hurriedly searched for his eye, he felt only skin where his eye should have been.
The moment he understood he had become the target of the curse, a pitch-black shadow loomed over Belorkin.
As his remaining eye rose in horror, he saw the now significantly larger Thousand-Faced Demon, with its hands raised delicately, staring down at him.
Ka-BLAM!
A thunderous roar echoed.
A single white face burst forth, splitting in two.
As the elongated white teeth and tongue became visible through the crack,
GRAAAAAH!
The earth trembled with the demon’s deafening roar.
In the wake of that roar, torrential rain began to pour from the sky.
Belorkin realized the despair that shrouded them in the grip of world erosion.
“Ah, ugh!”
Belorkin began to bolt, kicking up mud as he ran.
The surging waters of the swamp filled his legs halfway, but he couldn’t afford to pay it any mind right now.
He would die.
He was going to die!
That thought consumed his mind.
His balance wavering, he just kept running, feeling smaller and smaller in the world of world erosion.
The swamp around him didn’t seem to end, no matter how far he sprinted.
The relentless rain obscured his vision, and the muddy swamp gripped his legs.
Thud, thud, thud!
All the while, the footsteps of the advancing Thousand-Faced Demon tightened around him.
In the face of world erosion, Belorkin felt infinitely small.
Thoughts erupted in his mind.
He was Belorkin, born of the powerful Balheim family of the Starlon Kingdom.
Yet, what has become of him now?
His fellow knights had vanished in an instant, while he himself was fleeing like a madman from the lord of world erosion.
A Balheim himself!
Surely.
Surely Balheim was the strongest.
Then by extension, shouldn’t he be strong too?
This couldn’t be happening.
At that moment, the image of Charlotte flashed vividly in his mind.
His half-sister, a dazzling star of Starlon, blessed with extraordinary talent.
What would she do right now?
Would she flee like him?
Or would she stand firm, wielding her sword against that monster to take it down?
That very thought surged within him again and again.
He was afraid.
He had no idea what kind of scorn he might face in his family if he returned.
And the thought of the gap between him and Charlotte widening infinitely made him shiver.
He felt as if he would be remembered as the fool who was left behind by his three years younger sister, slowly catching up to him.
The promise he made to his deceased mother during his childhood—to become great—now felt like it would slip through his fingers.
That chain of burdens was driving Belorkin insane.
At that moment, another shadow loomed over him.
Thanks to the swamp water reaching up to his waist, his steps slowed, and the Thousand-Faced Demon finally caught up.
When he realized that fact and hurriedly raised his sword, a massive arm much larger than his own was lifted high in the sky.
“Uh.”
Just a short sound escaped Belorkin’s lips.
Ka-BLAM!
The Thousand-Faced Demon’s arm came crashing down, shattering the swamp, while the rising waters shot up into the air.
As a result, the swamp was violently agitated as though a wave had surged.
Beneath it, Belorkin’s form vanished from sight.
Only rainwater filled the space where he once stood.
＊ ＊ ＊
Belorkin opened his eyes some time later.
His body felt heavy.
He was in poor condition.
His ribs ached as if they were piercing his lungs, and his temperature had dropped dangerously low.
Moreover, the swamp water drenched his clothing, weighing him down like lead.
Wearing thick clothes didn’t help, either.
Did I survive?
It seemed he had narrowly managed to escape the demon’s attack.
Of course, he hadn’t evaded it entirely and was swept away by the wave it created, losing consciousness.
A moment later, he realized someone was draping an arm over his shoulder and moving through the swamp.
Through his blurry vision, he noticed how remarkably small the shoulder felt.
As if it belonged to a child.
Before long, he realized who the owner of that shoulder was.
“Kraush?”
The moment he called out the name, the boy turned his head toward him.
There was Kraush, drenched and disheveled by the pouring rain, with a relieved expression on his face.
With his mind swirling around thoughts of the Thousand-Faced Demon and Charlotte, Belorkin belatedly realized that Kraush had been here with him the whole time.
“Hyung, you’re awake?”
“How did you—no, how are you alive?”
“Yes, I had to keep my distance because it was dangerous.”
So that was it.
Apparently, that’s why he avoided being subjected to the curse unlike the knights.
Yet there was something unsettling about the entire situation in Belorkin’s mind.
It gnawed at him that Kraush, the person he had always thought would be beneath him, was now helping him.
Belorkin’s self-esteem had taken a massive blow during the retreat.
And now, accepting support from Kraush felt like crushing the final remnants of his pride.
“Enough. I’ll walk myself.”
Belorkin shrugged off Kraush’s arm and took a deep breath.
He realized something must have gone wrong internally during the earlier shock, as his breath hadn’t returned to normal.
Moreover, his aura felt abnormal too.
But he could still walk.
Even if he couldn’t, he had no intention of accepting help from Kraush.
“Hyung, you’re not in good shape. Please don’t.”
“I said I’m fine!”
Belorkin shouted back at Kraush, who tried to lend support once more, as if he thought he could help.
How dare you even attempt to help me!
Kraush finally let go, realizing there was no point in insisting.
Belorkin took a moment to breathe again as he looked at Kraush.
Fine, you stay in your place.
You shouldn’t forget your position, which is beneath me.
He thought as he tried again to move forward.
Thud!
Suddenly, the whole swamp echoed with a thudding sound.
The moment he heard it, Belorkin instinctively shrank back.
Because that sound belonged to none other than the Thousand-Faced Demon.
“Kraush, how far have we gotten?”
Belorkin asked, eager to know about their situation.
But Kraush maintained a serious expression as he surveyed the surroundings.
“I’m not certain. We’ve walked a bit, but if we can’t see outside, the world erosion may still be sealed off.”
Belorkin’s face turned pale at Kraush’s words.
If that were true, they couldn’t escape until they defeated the Thousand-Faced Demon.
Thud!
Again, the sound of the demon’s footsteps reverberated behind them.
“Damn it, damn it.”
As Belorkin felt a surge of anxiety, Kraush called out to him.
“I have a plan.”
“A plan?”
Belorkin looked at Kraush in shock that he of all people would suggest a plan.
Though he didn’t like it, he forced himself to suppress his emotions in the face of survival.
“Yes, you heard about my encounter with Anix, right?”
He remembered that rumor of Kraush having a draw.
Belorkin still harbored skepticism, but he had indeed heard those whispers.
“That came to pass because I learned a technique from my sister.”
In that moment, Belorkin flinched.
He instantly recognized that the sister Kraush mentioned was Charlotte.
“…From Charlotte?”
Kraush nodded again.
Could it be that Charlotte could teach someone?
Though he found it hard to believe that Charlotte would teach someone like Kraush, they were still siblings.
Perhaps she saw him differently from how he did.
And considering that he had fought Anix to a draw, it started to make sense if it was indeed Charlotte’s technique.
Her incredible genius was something Belorkin was acutely aware of.
“Does that technique mean you can take down that demon?”
“I can’t be certain, but it’s worth trying rather than dying here.”
Belorkin bit his lip for a moment.
Whatever that technique was, if Kraush had seen the Thousand-Faced Demon, it had to be something significant.
“…You’re asking me to do something because you want my help?”
“Your Ignis can ignite any flames, can’t it?”
“Yeah, but?”
“Light my aura with that flame.”
Belorkin finally understood what Kraush was getting at.
He intended to fuse his technique with Belorkin’s flames to strike down the Thousand-Faced Demon.
“I know you don’t trust me.”
Seeing Belorkin hesitate, Kraush spoke again.
“But you believe in my sister’s strength, don’t you?”
And those words were enough to halt any doubts Belorkin had.
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