Episode 192: Death Knight (4)
Demon.
A word that referred to a race living in another dimension known as Hell.
Demons were a species with high intelligence and a highly developed civilization.
But that wasn’t all. Demons were inherently born with immense power.
Near-infinite dark magic and formidable physical strength, along with various supernatural abilities.
“A weakling?”
That’s why the demon couldn’t immediately grasp what Damian had said.
“How dare you speak to me like that? Are you bold, or just too dim-witted to understand your place?”
Dark magic originally stemmed from demons.
Humans, in their quest to study and mimic the powers of demons, gave birth to dark magic.
In its early days, dark magic was crude and looked down upon as a mere trick.
It was Dorgo who redefined and advanced dark magic.
“Even if you’re a fool, the dark magic flowing through you should tell you what I am, yet you dare to spout such nonsense?”
Dark mages and dark knights instinctively felt fear when facing demons.
The dark magic possessed by demons was on a completely different level than theirs.
“You’re barking like a scared dog.”
Of course, this was only true for dark mages and knights weaker than demons.
Demons were powerful, but not invincible against all humans.
“Again with that arrogant talk. Do you not value your life?”
The demon’s words made Damian smirk.
The demon had no idea that Damian had encountered countless demons in his past life.
During the War of Destruction, Dorgo had used the power of demons to attack the empire.
Thus, Damian knew quite a bit about demons.
Their names, characteristics, the nature of their dark magic, and so on.
That’s why he could confidently say that the demon before him was nothing more than a minor threat.
“I was considering sparing you as a slave because of your dark magic.”
A massive surge of dark magic emanated from the demon.
It was on a completely different level from the dark magic used by dark mages. Much denser.
It was only natural. Dark mages could only extract dark magic by tormenting human souls.
But demons were different. They could generate dark magic on their own.
This high-output dark magic was the source of a demon’s strength.
“The price for exhausting my patience will be heavy.”
Faced with the demon’s murderous threat, Damian’s smirk widened.
It was just a mere avatar, not the demon’s true form, yet it was so talkative.
Dealing with an avatar was simple. Find the core that constituted it and destroy it.
“But sending it back so easily wouldn’t be any fun.”
The demon had dared to descend to the mortal realm and treat him like a slave. It had to pay the price.
Damian summoned his dark magic. He reached out and grasped the air.
A black light emanated from his hand.
Such arrogance, such insignificance in a human.
The Crimson Demon, Galdor, looked down at the human before him.
Despite facing a being far superior, there wasn’t a hint of respect in the human’s demeanor.
Yet, Galdor could somewhat understand this boundless pride.
The man before him was a Master Class.
A level only a handful of geniuses among humans could reach.
The strength of a Master Class was something even demons were wary of. Their aura blades could sever a demon’s life in an instant.
But that was only true for lesser demons. A count-level demon like Galdor had no fear of a Master Class.
He had just taken down a holy knight with a single blow, after all.
“Human, the price for exhausting my patience will be heavy.”
Galdor spoke with genuine intent. The human before him sneered in response.
Mocking him? A mere human?
Rage filled Galdor’s mind. He swung his fist, aiming to crush the human’s skull.
At that moment, the human summoned dark magic and reached out. From his empty hand, a black light emerged.
The light formed a hilt, and soon a blade extended from it.
An aura blade.
A weapon only those who had reached the pinnacle of human skill could create.
Even Galdor couldn’t underestimate an aura blade. But it wasn’t a major concern.
It was just a snake with fangs. There were countless ways to kill a snake without getting bitten.
“First, I’ll make sure you can’t run by breaking your legs.”
As soon as he thought it, his body moved instinctively. In an instant, he appeared behind the human.
He swung his hand to slice through the knee.
At that moment, Galdor met the human’s gaze, staring right at him.
How could a mere human read my movements?
The holy knight, also a Master Class, hadn’t even reacted to Galdor’s attack. Yet this human seemed to have anticipated it.
While Galdor was taken aback, the human raised his aura blade.
In that instant, a dreadful foreboding gripped him. Fear took root throughout his body.
Instinctively, Galdor pushed off the ground with all his might, retreating until the human was a mere speck in the distance.
“What?”
The human looked at Galdor with a bewildered expression.
“A demon running away?”
Galdor was just as confused.
Did I really run away? From a mere human?
It was humiliating. Shameful. But Galdor had no time to feel embarrassed.
His instincts were still on high alert against the man before him.
It must be a mistake.
It had to be a mistake. There was no way he could feel fear from a mere human.
As Galdor doubted his judgment, the human spoke again.
“I should swing a bit wider this time, in case you run again.”
With those cryptic words, the human raised his aura blade high.
The distance between them was vast. The human was a tiny speck.
Yet, why did it feel like the blade was right at his throat?
“Damn it…!”
Galdor cursed, gathering all his dark magic. He unleashed his power.
“I… afraid of a mere human…!”
Green flames began to engulf Galdor’s body. Soon, he was entirely consumed by fire.
The fiery Galdor grew in size, towering over the clouds.
“Human! I don’t know who you are, but!”
Galdor’s roar shook the world. The green flames blazed even more fiercely.
“I’ll kill you here, even if it takes everything I have!”
Galdor hurled himself at the human, intending to incinerate him entirely.
The human swung his aura blade in response.
Compared to Galdor’s power, it was a pitiful strike.
But when the blade’s arc sliced through the air,
The world split in two.
A black flash cleaved the world.
The divided world shifted slightly. At first, Galdor thought he was seeing an illusion.
Then he realized.
It wasn’t just the world that had been split.
His own body had been cleaved in two.
“Kaah! Kraaah!”
The moment he grasped reality, pain exploded in his mind. An indescribable agony tormented Galdor.
“Kaah! Kaak!”
His fiery form began to rapidly diminish.
“This can’t… this can’t be… Kaah!”
Being made of fire, Galdor’s form should have been immune to injury.
But the slash just now was different.
In a single strike, his body was divided. He had suffered a fatal wound. In short, Galdor was dying.
Once the flames completely extinguished, his avatar would vanish. Then Galdor’s soul would return to his body in Hell.
He couldn’t bear that.
He didn’t want to leave the mortal realm and return to the dullness of Hell. He desperately wanted to maintain his avatar.
“I must… I must heal… somehow stop the bleeding…”
But no matter how hard he tried, the avatar’s wound wouldn’t heal.
Eventually, the flames vanished completely. At the same time, Galdor’s consciousness was abruptly cut off.
“Gasp!”
When he came to, Galdor found himself back in his true form in Hell.
“This can’t be… a mere human… could so easily… cut through my power…!”
A single, decisive strike.
In just one blow, Galdor’s avatar was destroyed, and his consciousness returned to Hell.
“What kind of monster was that… what on earth…”
At that moment, something dripped down his face.
Galdor wiped his face with his palm. Crimson blood stained his hand.
“What… what is this…”
He turned his head towards a mirror. His reflection stared back at him.
A line.
A line of blood ran from his head to his groin. Seeing it, Galdor muttered in a daze.
“The slash… reached my true form…?”
Blood gushed from the line. No, it erupted, like a dam bursting.
His abdomen split open, spilling his innards. An overwhelming fatigue washed over him. Galdor sensed his impending death.
“A slash… that transcends dimensions… this can’t be possible…”
Even the legendary swordmaster, Moddeus, known as the Great Demon, couldn’t achieve such a feat.
“We’ve awakened a monster… Such a thing… should never exist…”
The creature’s body split open from the head down, dividing into two.
At that moment, Galdol’s breath ceased entirely.