An artifact imbued with transcendent technology developed by a genius demon, the Demon Gem.
This was a thing worthy of being called innovation.
– This is different from the technology of the future world that the entity [Witness] visited.
The Witness floated before me, babbling as it accessed the demon net provided by the Demon Gem.
– Very few scientific technologies were applied; most of the structure is built up with magical formations. It’s like a complex maze.
So, it means they mimicked science with magic.
It was indeed fascinating, but I wasn’t particularly interested. I hardly knew anything about either science or magic.
In the first place, how it was created wasn’t really an important question.
The only thing I needed to focus on was the benefits I could gain through the Demon Gem.
And I had already come up with a plan for how to utilize the demon net.
“Witness, please gather all the materials regarding the Domain of the Great Demon from the mana communication network.”
– Understood.
With that response, the Witness vanished from my sight.
Now I could secure the information about the domain, which was the most urgent issue at hand.
Soon, I would have a variety of data gathered.
I finally turned my head with a relaxed mind.
“Rodwell.”
At my call, the demon that had been retreating with one leg remaining flinched.
“What do you want?”
“Guide us. For now, let’s go to a place where we won’t get splattered with blood.”
The blood droplets that had been falling from the sky were irritating me.
The red drizzle gradually stained my skin and clothes, accompanied by a nauseating smell.
While it wasn’t at a level that was overwhelming, who knows what might happen later, so I decided to avoid it.
In the demon world, it was necessary to be cautious in everything.
“We need to get inside and solidify our plan to deal with the Great Demon. Hurry up.”
“…”
Rodwell glanced at me and my party, breaking into a cold sweat as he spoke.
“What if we run into a superior while guiding you?”
“I’ll do my best to keep you safe.”
“Not really a satisfying answer, but I’m not in a position to complain. Follow me.”
The one-legged demon quickly hopped into a road lined with dense trees on both sides.
To be precise, the road was made of vertebrae for the trunk and skull as the fruit, mixed with bloody flesh.
Is this really the natural environment?
I couldn’t believe it, so when I asked Lilith, she said this was actually on the tame side.
It was a moment that further reinforced my bias against the demon world.
“Please remain vigilant.”
Just in case, I kept Ilju and Seongju floating in the air and followed behind Rodwell.
Slosh, slosh, slosh.
Perhaps because the ground was soaked in blood, the sound of the demon advancing with one leg echoed loudly.
Considering he had just lost a leg, he was moving pretty well.
While he hurried along, Rodwell spoke up.
“This is the center of the Great Bloodstain Mountain Range, located in the western region of the Domain of the Great Demon. It’s ruled by General Kion.”
Why does every name have the prefix ‘Great’?
Was he so desperate to emphasize his importance?
“However, it seems that Kion and the western legion soldiers have already dealt with you in the dream world.”
Kion was the name of the unicorn centaur that had become nourishment for the White Tiger.
“That’s right.”
“Then this place is now a safe zone. You can relax.”
“…”
I had a lot to say, but for now, I decided to let it go since he gave me such a wonderful tool as the Demon Gem.
As I was contemplating how to treat Rodwell, the surrounding scenery grew increasingly bizarre.
The trees made of bones on the roadside had grown tall enough to cover the sky.
The flesh pavement began to throb slowly, as if it were coming to life.
“Ugh…”
Perhaps feeling the same disgust, Yao, who was walking next to me, frowned.
I patted her back, sharing the same sentiment, and we continued moving.
Then, all of a sudden.
Zing!
A jolt of sensation surged through my hand. It was the warning from Liam’s danger detection magic.
Immediately, Yao conjured a spear to protect me and thrust it forward.
Clang!
Soon, the blue spear clashed with a black sword.
The attacker was a woman completely enveloped in shadow, suddenly emerging from the flesh ground.
Following her were dozens of sword-wielding figures, all resembling the woman who had ambushed me, appearing from all directions.
Each one emanated an intense aura—strong demons that had all reached the early stages of a superhuman level.
As all the swordsmen slowly aimed their weapons, a laughter erupted among us.
“Kwaha!”
The owner of the laughter was none other than the one-legged demon who had been groveling just moments ago.
Now, Rodwell had managed to plant both feet on the ground and had slipped away among the swordsmen.
“How foolish. Your end is nigh!”
Rodwell grinned, suddenly full of swagger.
“This was a ploy to lure you in!”
Silence.
None of us felt betrayed or enraged.
Not even a small reaction was forthcoming.
Perhaps because of that, the little demon’s grin slowly faded.
Cautiously, he asked.
“Why is no one outraged?”
“Fool.”
Reeve, who didn’t feel the need to maintain decorum before a demon, wore a blatant sneer.
“Why would we be angry? It was too obvious.”
It truly was a transparent tactic.
He just bought time by giving me the Demon Gem—he hadn’t pierced my true intentions at all.
“Tch. Turns out you’re not all morons. But I thought at least a few might show some intense reactions.”
Rodwell clucked his tongue in disappointment.
His attitude had completely transformed from cowardly to rather vain.
That made him somewhat imposing. Despite his small stature, a certain authority emanated from him.
“You are no ordinary minion.”
“When did you catch on?”
“From the moment you handed me this.”
I tapped my temple as I continued speaking.
“The Demon Gem. It doesn’t make sense for such a remarkable magical tool to be given to a mere minion.”
“Was that completely absurd? Correct, I am not a lowly soldier but a general right below the commander.”
Rodwell chuckled, looking around at the swordsmen who were presumably his subordinates, before pointing a finger at me.
“This is a special trap set for you. The Great Demon said that the Pink Haired Pontiff prefers not to evade traps but to counter them instead. It seems that remark was accurate.”
So he deliberately led me to suspect something was off.
That meant he was challenging me to a battle of wits.
“Are you confident?”
“Of course. You came all the way here knowing my thoughts. That was my intention.”
The small demon leaned back nonchalantly and spat onto the flesh ground.
“There’s a saying: people who overly trust their own abilities tend to confront crises head-on each time. Don’t you think that’s a stupid judgment?”
“……”
“I always have contingency plans for everything I do. This time is no different.”
He was rambling unnecessarily long.
Should I just send Ilju and Seongju now? I thought about it but decided against it.
Sometimes, it was better to let people talk freely. It would result in a much more entertaining reaction later.
“Pink Haired Pontiff. Right now, your position is being communicated in real-time to all the generals. Thanks to the Demon Gem.”
With a bright grin, Rodwell slowly spread his arms.
“By now, everyone should be on their way here. I’ll take care of you first, but who knows?”
In the end, the reason he handed me the Demon Gem was to notify the generals of my location.
It was somewhat underwhelming compared to my expectations, but I smiled brightly.
“Thank you. Instead of being chased, getting such a wonderful item is, in fact, a gain for me.”
“……”
He may think he was clever, but I was grateful.
All the generals were coming straight to me?
That was rather welcome news. I had been planning to eliminate them beforehand anyway before confronting the Great Demon.
“You seem to have a decent head on those shoulders. But you miscalculated when you tried to act all smart.”
“…The soon-to-be-dead one sure has a lot to say.”
“Thanks for the compliment. The Demon Gem is now mine.”
With my subtly mocking tone, Rodwell’s face contorted in anger as he stepped back.
“Make this quick!”
At Rodwell’s command, all the shadow demons charged at once.
The five demons closest to me were the first to attack, crossing their swords and swinging at me.
– I’ll block them.
– Yiyaaat!
Clash!
Ilju and Seongju easily parried the five swords aimed for my neck and then casually started chatting.
– These swords are made of cheap materials. They’re worthless.
– How boring!
– Even with three hundred of these swords, we’d win easily.
– Really?!
As the two swords spoke nonchalantly, the demons were pouring their strength into their attacks, trembling as they did.
It wasn’t a sight that warranted a good review.
“Hurry up and deal with them.”
– Got it!
– Yes!
The two magical swords immediately sprang into action.
“…Eh?”
In the next moment, the swords of the demon attacking me had their arms twisted at the joints.
That was Seongju’s telekinesis ability.
Following that, Ilju swiftly bisected the five demon heads in an instant.
Despite losing their heads, the persistent demons still managed to survive, but flames began to engulf their bodies shortly after.
That was Ilju’s ability, Fire Manipulation.
“Ugh…!”
Even after having their heads cut off and being set ablaze, the demon swordsmen still struggled until their lives were extinguished one by one.
It was a pathetic display for such a formidable entrance.
“…Huh?”
Were they taken aback by the sudden defeat of their subordinates?
Rodwell’s complexion turned pale.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Reeve and Wip had been easily pushing back the shadow swordsmen.
Reeve was extending her shield repeatedly, bludgeoning the demons.
And Wip was swiftly slashing nearby enemies with daggers, leaving only afterimages in his wake.
Yao, who had been guarding my side, pierced through the torso of the demon that had attacked me earlier.
The overwhelming power difference felt so stark that it was hard to feel sorry for the demons.
We were achieving a landslide victory.
“……”
Rodwell, who had been observing the battle like me, was now completely stiff with fear.
Then he quickly turned around and started to flee.
Had he already lost the will to fight?
He wasn’t even worth sending Ilju and Seongju after.
“Yao, handle this.”
“Understood.”
At my command, Yao dashed off like a gust of wind and soon had Rodwell caught.
Following that, she delivered a series of heavy punches to the small demon’s body.
With his arms raised as he struggled to defend, Rodwell shouted.
“T-This is too different from the power that Lord Lruiena mentioned! You would normally be…!”
It was only then that I realized why the demons felt so weak.
Lilith, who had been hugging Cubica protectively beside her, seemed to draw a similar conclusion and chuckled softly.
“Did the Great Demon miscalculate your strength?”
“…A demon of such caliber shouldn’t be this brittle.”
“Indeed.”
Frowning, Lilith poked Cubica’s nose repeatedly.
“By your saying, he’s not that incompetent to make this kind of mistake. Is something going wrong? Is this tied to the information that he’s currently unable to move?”
As the conversation continued, a growing sense of anxiety overwhelmed me.
It seemed I’d need to speak with Quick Eagle when I got back.
‘Is he really torturing the fragments or something?’
Could that group, claiming to be heroes, truly be doing such things? What on earth was happening over there in the United States?
While lost in thought, the battle came to an end.
“Ugh…”
All the shadow swordsmen lay dead, and Rodwell was left beaten and unconscious.
It was a complete victory.
“White Tiger.”
– Grrr!
And once again, it was time for the White Tiger’s meal.
Our little tiger went over to the fallen demon swordsmen, eagerly nibbling on their ankles.
The venom and energy remaining in the dead bodies were instantly siphoned into White Tiger.
“Go ahead and eat that one too.”
By the time White Tiger had consumed each swordsman, I pointed at Rodwell, whose face was swollen from Yao’s punches.
– Grr?
“I know. He’s a weak demon. But at least give it a try. It might taste better than you think.”
He seemed to be a demon who became a general just by having one clever brain, so I insisted he have some.
Reluctantly, White Tiger finally chowed down on Rodwell’s energy and venom after my insistence.
And soon.
Just like when he had consumed the unicorn, void energy burst forth from White Tiger’s body, enveloping its tiny form.
It was mutation time once again.
What kind of form would it take this time?
As I waited with a pounding heart, the result soon emerged.
“Oh…”
White Tiger had grown slightly larger than before.
Additionally, shadows began to envelop its body like armor.
This was a reflection of the shadow swordsman demons’ characteristics.
So what about Rodwell’s attributes?
“…Grr.”
At that moment, White Tiger suddenly turned to me and spoke.
“Mother, my mind has become remarkably clear.”
…More fluent Korean than Yao.
Support me by donating at least $10, and you'll have the right to request any novel from Novelpia (excluding 19+ content) using a newly developed tool.
