Episode 221: The Demon Slayer Squad (1)
The next morning, Damian left the mansion at the time the Sword Saint had specified.
The streets were quiet in the early dawn, with only a few patrolling soldiers in sight.
As he approached the north gate, he noticed a group of three people gathered there.
Two men and one woman, all dressed simply and carrying swords.
They didn’t seem particularly remarkable at first glance, but Damian couldn’t dismiss them.
Each of them exuded an incredible aura, palpable even from a distance.
There was no doubt—they were all Master Class warriors.
“Hey, over here! This way!”
One of them waved at Damian. It was the woman, her hair tied back like a horse’s tail.
Damian made his way over to them, and as he got closer, their faces came into clear view.
They all looked quite young, but appearances could be deceiving. At the Master Class level, aging slowed significantly.
“You’re Damian Haxen, right? I’ve heard so much about you. Actually, it’s all anyone talks about these days.”
The woman seemed quite talkative, launching into conversation the moment she saw him.
“They say even His Majesty knelt before you! I couldn’t believe my ears. I was curious about what kind of person you were… Never thought I’d meet you as a member of the Demon Slayer Squad.”
As Damian had suspected, the three were members of the Demon Slayer Squad.
The full name was the Demon Slayer Knights, but since it included not just knights but also mages and alchemists, it was more commonly referred to as the Demon Slayer Squad.
“I’m Rainy Bell. This here is Wilhelm Wilson, and the grumpy one over there is Roger Crimson.”
Damian repeated their names in his mind.
He hadn’t heard of them in his previous life, nor had he seen their faces.
If they were part of the Demon Slayer Squad, Damian would have known. After all, he had personally wiped them out in his past life.
They must have died before the Great War, which was why he hadn’t encountered them.
“I’m Damian Haxen.”
Wilhelm Wilson greeted him with a broad smile, while Roger Crimson spat on the ground.
“Wilhelm can’t speak. He had a rough childhood. And Roger, well, he’s just rude, so don’t mind him.”
“Sister, must you put it that way?”
Roger grumbled, and Rainy clicked her tongue.
“Forgive him. Our master… I mean, the Sword Saint, has been talking about you non-stop lately, and he’s a bit jealous. I can’t believe he’s acting so childish at his age.”
“Wh-who’s jealous? I-I-I’m not!”
Roger protested loudly, but Rainy ignored him.
‘So they are the Sword Saint’s disciples,’ Damian thought.
He had guessed as much, given the similarity in their auras to the Sword Saint’s.
It wasn’t surprising. The Demon Slayer Squad was originally formed by the Sword Saint gathering his disciples.
“I have so many questions for you… but we’re on a tight schedule, so let’s get moving. If we dawdle, the Great Evil might escape.”
“Understood.”
“Hmm?”
Rainy Bell tilted her head, puzzled by Damian’s response.
“The Sword Saint isn’t here yet. Are you sure we should leave?”
Rainy Bell grinned mischievously.
As she pointed out, there were only four of them present. The Sword Saint was nowhere to be seen.
It didn’t make sense to go fight a formidable foe like the Great Evil without him.
Yet Damian nodded.
“I don’t think the Sword Saint will be joining us.”
“What? Why?”
“Because the two of you are more than enough.”
At his words, the three of them widened their eyes slightly, looking a bit taken aback.
“How did you know?”
“I’m observant.”
Among the three, Rainy and Wilhelm were not ordinary Master Class warriors.
They were capable of taking down a Great Evil that had perished before the Great War.
“Impressive… You’re right. Our master won’t be coming. Wilhelm and I can handle Vanexia on our own.”
“Sister, why am I being left out?”
“Hey, you have no place to butt in. I’m ranked fourth in the Demon Slayer Squad, and Wilhelm is third, but you… sigh.”
Rainy sighed and shook her head, causing Roger’s face to flush red.
“J-just you wait! I’ll be in the single digits within a year!”
“Sure, make sure you do.”
Listening to their exchange, Damian couldn’t help but be impressed.
‘No wonder they’re strong. They’re the third and fourth in the Demon Slayer Squad.’
Rainy Bell and Wilhelm Wilson had already surpassed the Master Class level.
The next stage after Master Class was Grandmaster, but reaching that level was unimaginably difficult.
The journey to become a Grandmaster was a hundred, even a thousand times longer than the path to Master Class.
That’s why the process was often referred to as a wall to be overcome.
Rainy Bell and Wilhelm Wilson had taken the first step toward becoming Grandmasters.
They weren’t boasting when they said they could handle the Great Evil with just the two of them.
“So, Damian Haxen, you don’t need to worry.”
Rainy spoke with confidence.
And with that, the four of them passed through the north gate, heading toward where the Great Evil, Vanexia, awaited.
“Who the hell do you think you are?!”
Inside a dark cave.
A man with hair as blue as sapphire was seething with rage.
In front of him stood a large mirror, but it reflected not him, but a woman.
“How can I calm down when you’re blatantly disrespecting me?!”
When Sla contacted him, Vanexia had been hopeful.
Men were often swayed by beauty, and Sla was the most beautiful woman in Pandemonium.
But the conversation hadn’t gone as Vanexia had hoped.
The woman in the mirror sighed, her red eyes and lips exuding an intoxicating allure.
Vanexia swallowed hard, momentarily captivated even in his fury.
But her next words snapped him back to reality.
“That’s nonsense! You’re clearly disrespecting me!”
A few days ago, the Master had issued an order to the Great Evils.
Whoever captured Damian Haxen and brought him to the Master would have any wish granted.
Considering the Master’s knowledge and treasures, it was an order that couldn’t be ignored.
Vanexia had already set up a dungeon near the capital where Damian Haxen was rumored to be.
He was planning to capture Damian Haxen.
But then Sla had made this request, which was more of a threat.
Sla’s expression turned displeased.
Though both were Great Evils, Sla and Vanexia were not equals.
Sla was one of the most powerful beings in Pandemonium.
“Yes! I’ll do as I please!”
But Vanexia had his pride as a Great Evil. He couldn’t back down now.
“Ha! Do as you wish!”
Vanexia cut off the communication. He couldn’t listen any longer.
”…Damn it.”
After venting his anger, his head cooled slightly, and anxiety crept in.
No matter how he thought about it, he couldn’t match Sla’s power. Her influence was too great.
“Who could she have sent?”
Sla’s lovers were all formidable.
Especially her favored “consorts,” who were known to rival the Great Evils.
If one of them came, even Vanexia couldn’t guarantee victory.
As Vanexia pondered, the mirror’s surface changed, revealing a man’s figure.
“Weapon Master? What do you want?”
Vanexia asked irritably.
Already stressed by Sla, he wasn’t in the mood for a call from someone he barely knew.
“Damn it, now everyone knows. So what do you want?”
At that moment, Vanexia’s temper flared.
“You damn fools, both of you! Get lost!”
Weapon Master merely blinked at Vanexia’s outburst.
Weapon Master was a Great Evil with power rivaling Sla’s.
But Vanexia, consumed by rage, didn’t care.
“Bold, my ass! Get lost now!”
“Fine! Do as you please!”
With that, Vanexia ended the communication, still fuming.
“Vanexia, sir!”
Just then, a dark mage entered the lab. Vanexia shouted.
“What?!”
“Intruder! There’s an intruder in the dungeon!”
“What? Is it the Slana or the Weapon Master?”
Vanexia shouted in surprise. One of his subordinates, looking flustered, replied.
“Uh, it’s neither.”
“What do you mean?”
“Imperial knights have appeared!”
At those words, Vanexia’s eyes widened in shock.