Chapter 26

At those words, greed filled the demons' eyes.

“Radir?”

“The Radir Clan?!”

Their mouths stretched into wide grins, and wild laughter erupted.

“To think a demon of the Radir Clan was still alive!”

“Hahaha! We've landed a big one this time!”

The blood of demon nobility was precious. All the more so in the Demon Realm these days, when every noble clan had been exterminated and only mongrels remained!

“Don't give her an opening!”

Without further ado, the demons lunged at Esil of the Radir Clan. Their bodies swelled explosively, and sinister demonic energy streamed from their newly elongated claws as they struck to kill.

“How dare you, mere lesser demons!”

Esil lightly leaped clear of every attack and swung her spear without hesitation.

But the lesser demons merely sneered and kept pressing her.

“Ha! The world has changed too much for those petty distinctions!”

“Who would've thought the day would come when we'd hunt demon nobility!”

“Ghh!”

Forced onto the defensive, Esil gritted her teeth in frustration.

After being pursued by countless demons through the Demon Realm for so long, she had long since exhausted her stamina. To make matters worse, being abruptly summoned to Earth in her true body had placed restrictions on her power.

The way to remove those restrictions was possession.

These lesser demons had possessed humans and stolen their bodies. On top of that, they had developed Stardust to amplify their strength.

A battle between a weakened demon noble and strengthened lesser demons. It was obvious which side would have the upper hand.

“Hahaha! The pure blood of nobility! Pure blood!”

“We can make Stardust with pure blood!”

[Young Monarch.]

Just then, Beru appeared beside Suho's ear and whispered softly. Suho had quietly slipped back when the sudden battle broke out.

“Right. Now's our chance.”

Suho nodded and exchanged glances with the hunters lying in the handcart. They nodded back and stealthily rose.

'This wasn't part of the plan, but it's actually worked in our favor.'

Their original plan had been as follows.

1) Infiltration: Wearing a crow mask and black robe, Suho would infiltrate the factory disguised as the rookie demon.

2) Diversion: Once inside, Suho would cause a “disturbance,” drawing all the demons' attention to himself.

3) Escape: Meanwhile, the hunters disguised as bloodied victims would rescue the people held captive in the factory and flee.

But this had happened before Suho could even create his diversion.

'We'll stick to the plan.'

Every hunter in the handcart, including Teaching Assistant Im, possessed a speed-related skill.

In a flash, Suho and the hunters vanished from the spot. An instant later, they reached the people bound in the corner and clamped hands over their mouths.

“Shh.”

“...!”

After a quick exchange of glances, the captives understood and nodded, their faces stricken with fear.

CRACK.

Suho tore apart the chains binding them with brute strength.

'We did it!'

Teaching Assistant Im's heart pounded, desperate to flee that very instant.

'Now we just have to carry them and run!'

Just as he hoisted a civilian onto his back...

“Huh?”

One of the lesser demons fighting Esil of the Radir Clan caught sight of them.

“Rookie, what are you doing over there instead of fighting?”

Suspicion flickered in the demon's eyes behind its crow mask.

Instead of answering, Suho shouted.

“Run!”

The hunters, who had just finished slinging all the civilians over their shoulders, burst into motion at top speed.

Their destination: the exit!

“Not so fast!”

Several demons fighting Esil swiftly moved to block their path.

WHOOSH!

Sinister demonic energy surged toward the hunters.

Then Suho shouted from behind them.

“Don't stop! Keep running!”

Their eyes hardened with resolve, and the hunters pushed themselves even faster. The faster they ran, the faster the demons' attacks closed in, but...

'We're counting on you!'

They kept running, trusting Suho.

And Suho did not betray that trust.

“Arise!”

At that instant...

[Krrrk!]

“...!”

Hands shot out and seized one leg after another. The arms of the Shadow Goblins Suho had planted near the entrance erupted from the floor, clinging to the demons' legs.

“What the...?!”

The demons recoiled in shock. But they hadn't seen anything yet.

[Heehee!]

[Kehehe!]

Shadow Goblins had nasty dispositions. With the butchering knives in their hands, they mercilessly slashed the demons' ankles.

“Aaagh!”

The human bodies the demons currently inhabited were truly frail. Even the slightest cut to the Achilles tendon rendered them helpless.

As the demons screamed and crumpled to the floor...

'Now's our chance!'

The hunters raced past them and successfully escaped the factory.

The last to step through the iron door, Teaching Assistant Im turned to look at Suho, who remained behind.

'Are you really going to be all right?'

Understanding the question in his eyes alone, Suho grinned and nodded.

Then...

BANG!

The iron door slammed shut.

Time taken to escape: three seconds.

Time taken for the demons to tear the Shadow Goblins apart and get back up: two seconds.

Five seconds in total.

Everything was going smoothly.

'Now all that's left...'

Was it his turn?

Suho quickly counted the demons with his eyes. Excluding the purple-haired demon who had just been summoned...

'Nine in total.'

The problem was that every one of them was about as strong as the “rookie” he'd barely managed to defeat earlier.

But...

'I can handle this.'

Suho looked down at his shadow.

Then...

“Arise.”

He called forth the shadow soldier he had extracted before infiltrating this place.

“Broki.”

...!

At that moment, a massive shadow surged up before him.

WHOOOOSH!

[Broki Lv.1]

Knight Grade

An enormous hyena magic beast, its entire body seething with black vapor.

This was the “disturbance” Suho had originally planned. The order had been reversed, but the circumstances were even better for hunting demons.

[ROOOAR!]

Broki's murderous roar shook the factory.

“Wh-what?!”

The demons relentlessly attacking Esil were thrown into confusion.

“Why is Broki here?!”

“No, something's different about him...?”

The demons already knew Broki, the power behind the Hyena Guild. Naturally so, since the Hyena Guild had been one of their main suppliers, kidnapping people and handing them over as ingredients for Stardust.

The situation had improved considerably.

But a problem still remained.

Having fought both Broki and a demon, Suho knew from experience that Broki was stronger than any individual demon before him.

But there were nine demons.

As things stood, he had no chance of winning.

But what about this?

“Beru!”

[SKREEE!]

At Suho's call, sinister energy spread in every direction from Beru's tiny body.

[Beru uses 'Skill: Harsh Command.']

['Skill: Harsh Command' increases Broki's stats by 50%.]

[As a side effect of 'Skill: Harsh Command,' Broki is afflicted with the Curse of Madness.]

[ROOAR!]

Broki immediately pounced on the demons.

CRASH!

“Gah?!”

His enormous forepaw swung like a baseball bat, sending the demons helplessly flying. As they slammed squarely into the concrete wall, Suho's twin swords whirled toward them.

'Storm Slash!'

[Using 'Skill: Storm Slash.']

KABOOM!

Suho spun like a typhoon, driving them back.

[You have defeated a lesser demon.]

[You have defeated a lesser demon...]

“Hah... hah...”

Thanks to that, Esil finally gained a moment to catch her breath after her brutal lone struggle. Yet rather than relaxing in relief, she stared wide-eyed at Broki rampaging through the enemy.

“Could that magic beast be...?”

[ROOAR!]

CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!

A black magic beast bearing down on the demons with the immense bulk of a tank.

As far as Esil knew, only one being in the world commanded summons that looked like that.

The one who had single-handedly destroyed the Demon Realm long ago. The one who had annihilated every demon in his path and finally defeated Baran, the Demon Monarch himself.

That terrifying, magnificent name.

“... Lord Sung Jinwoo is here?!”

Esil's face, which had radiated icy hostility all this time, suddenly brightened. She frantically looked around for Sung Jinwoo.

“Where! Where are you, Lord Jin—”

And at last, she spotted him.

“...woo?”

Though it wasn't Sung Jinwoo, she had found a face that looked remarkably like him in his younger days.

“Huh?”

Esil tilted her head.

Just then...

[It's been a while.]

Beru glided into view before her.

“Who... Wait, Beru?!”

Seeing him for the first time in so long, Esil was startled by his changed appearance.

“Why are you so small?”

The Beru she remembered had been a fiend more dreadful than any demon, leading the slaughter of their enemies at Sung Jinwoo's side.

Yet somehow, he had now turned into a cute little creature the size of a fist.

Beru, meanwhile, was just as curious.

[And you've grown considerably weaker. What happened?]

“Hehe. You could say I've had a rough time.”

Even as blood poured from her wounds, Esil chattered away with a silly grin.

Beru snorted, apparently finding the sight pathetic.

[You're at death's door, yet you're as carefree as ever.]

“Well, as long as I'm not dead yet. Whew.”

[What in the world has happened in the Demon Realm—]

THUD.

Before Beru could finish, Esil collapsed on the spot. The instant she saw him, all the tension had drained out of her.

Lying facedown on the floor, she whimpered up at him.

“Beru, I really think I'm dying. Could you cast a heal on me?”

[No.]

“Oh, why not?”

[It would be a waste of mana.]

At his flat refusal, Esil realized something.

“Aha. You've gotten weaker too, haven't you?”

[SKREEE! I have not!]

Beru bristled in indignation.

Even as they spoke, Suho's battle continued.

[You have defeated a lesser demon.]

[Vulcan's Horn devours the demon's soul.]

...

The battle had already swung entirely in Suho's favor. Harsh Command, which boosted Broki's stats by a full 50%, provided far greater amplification than Stardust.

On top of that, Suho grew stronger with every demon he killed.

[Demon Souls Devoured: 3]

[Demon Souls Devoured: 4]

...

[Effect 'Destructive Urge': Increases physical damage by [33%].]

[Effect 'Destructive Urge': Increases physical damage by [34%].]

...

[You have leveled up!]

“Gah!”

THUD.

The moment Suho's blade severed the last demon's head, his level reached exactly 20.

Then...