Episode 329: Awakening (3)
In the ruins of the empire’s capital, a fierce battle raged between a giant and two knights.
White lightning relentlessly struck the giant, while a green storm sliced through its massive form. Yet, the giant remained unyielding, roaring with delight.
“Ha! You two are more impressive than I expected! I never thought you’d push me this far!”
Suddenly, the lightning and storm ceased. A boy and a woman appeared atop a building.
“Don’t tell me you’re already worn out?” the giant demon, Bas, taunted as he looked down at them.
The boy and the woman were too breathless to respond immediately. Seeing this, Bas feigned regret.
“Oh dear, did I push you too hard? I should’ve let you rest a bit. I’m such a fool,” he said, tapping his head with a massive fist.
The boy grimaced and turned to the woman. “Hey, Nokpung, are all demons this idiotic?”
“Filthy remnants of hell, they are. Don’t expect much from fools who defy the divine,” she replied sharply.
Bas laughed heartily at their scathing remarks, his laughter so loud it seemed to shake the earth.
“That’s harsh! I was giving you a compliment, you know.”
“Your praise doesn’t exactly thrill me,” the boy retorted.
“Agreed. Unless you’re offering your neck on a platter,” the woman added.
“That’s not happening. I plan to live a long life, conquer the surface, and feast on humans,” Bas declared, grinning.
The two exchanged a look of disgust.
“Truly a creature we can’t reason with,” the boy muttered.
“Mercenary King, if you create an opening, I’ll take his head,” the woman said.
“Oh, have you caught your breath already? Good,” Bas said, a twisted smile spreading across his face, eager for more battle.
“Bas,” a familiar voice called out. Bas looked down to see the bull-headed demon, Asta, gazing up at him.
“Asta? You’re already healed?”
“Don’t worry about me. But how long do you plan to toy with them?” Asta asked, frowning.
“Can’t I enjoy a bit of fun?” Bas replied.
“Enough. We’re not here to play. We’re here to follow orders,” Asta snapped.
Bas scratched his head, knowing Asta was right. “Laria hasn’t finished her task either. If you keep this up, what are we supposed to do?”
“Fine, I’ll wrap it up soon.”
“If you don’t, I’ll handle it myself.”
“No, no, that won’t do. They’re my toys,” Bas said, his voice dropping slightly. Even if Asta outranked him, he wouldn’t let anyone take his playthings.
“If you’re so concerned, go help the master,” Bas suggested.
“Help? Don’t be ridiculous. The master doesn’t need assistance,” Asta replied, irritation in his voice.
“He’ll crush Damien Haxen easily…”
At that moment, a tremendous force swept across the world. The two demons exchanged glances, sensing a monumental shift. It was clear that Bahel had done something, as his energy resonated throughout the land.
A shockwave erupted in the distance. Bas and Asta turned to see its source.
There, they witnessed Bahel impaled on Damien Haxen’s blade.
The tip of the sword touched his body.
First, the power of isolation tried to block the blade, but it shattered instantly. Next, his thick muscles attempted to stop it, but they too failed. The blade sliced through, reaching the final barrier: bone.
Previously, Bahel had suffered a grievous wound from Damien Haxen’s strike, yet his bones had remained intact. Now, even his reinforced bones couldn’t withstand the assault.
The breastplate covering his chest shattered, and the blade pierced the heart hidden within.
A demon’s heart was unlike any other creature’s. It was more an organ of energy production and movement than a heart. Yet, it was just as vital and vulnerable. And now, it was utterly destroyed.
Bahel coughed up blood, and it didn’t stop. It poured from him relentlessly.
To become a duke-level demon, Bahel had fought countless battles, enduring severe injuries. He had lost limbs and even half his head, but he always recovered, overcoming every adversary.
But this time was different. Bahel realized death had come for him.
“How did you escape the frozen time…?” he asked, even as he faced his end.
He had isolated time, halting everything in the world. Yet, Damien Haxen had moved and driven his sword into Bahel’s heart.
“I cut through it,” came the brief reply. But Bahel understood Damien’s meaning immediately.
“You’ve reached that level again, where you can sever even my power.”
A third-rate swordsman merely swings a sword. A second-rate one uses their body. A first-rate master moves with their mind.
Damien Haxen was a grandmaster. He didn’t need to swing his sword to manifest his power.
That’s why Bahel couldn’t completely stop him.
“Truly… remarkable. You’re awe-inspiring,” Bahel admitted sincerely.
Since becoming a duke-level demon, he had found few equals over the centuries. Even demons older than him couldn’t match his strength.
Yet here he was, defeated by a human who hadn’t even lived a century.
“The more I think about it, the more absurd it seems… to grow so strong so quickly…”
Suddenly, Bahel thought of Ruin, the hero who had driven demons and monsters from the surface and built a world for humans.
Demons loathed Ruin, documenting him in detail. A human who appeared out of nowhere, uniting scattered humans in a year and building a force to rival demons in less than three.
Demons recorded Ruin as a human who lived a day as if it were a hundred years, a mysterious being who became more monstrous with each encounter.
In Bahel’s eyes, Damien’s talent was on par with Ruin’s.
“Ha, so this is how they felt… No wonder they feared him…”
Bahel’s head slowly lowered as he prepared to meet his end.
“My lord!”
“Master!”
His subordinates rushed toward him, calling out.
“I’ll save you!”
“Just hold on a little longer!”
Bahel looked at them, surprised. He hadn’t thought he treated them poorly, but he hadn’t expected such loyalty.
“Right, there are still pests to deal with,” Damien Haxen said, attempting to withdraw his sword from Bahel’s chest. Bahel quickly grabbed Damien’s wrist with his remaining hand.
“What are you doing?” Damien demanded, glaring at Bahel. Bahel grinned and shouted.
“Stay back!”
His subordinates halted, confused by the command.
“Coming closer will only lead to your deaths! You must plan for the future!” Bahel shouted, suppressing his pain.
“Return to hell! Tell them there’s a monster on the surface! As long as this monster lives, never dream of reclaiming the surface!”
His subordinates hesitated, their loyalty evident.
Bahel sighed inwardly, cursing their devotion.
“Do you think I’ll let them go?” Damien asked coldly. Bahel gave a bitter smile.
“Of course not.”
Bahel gathered the last of his energy, unleashing his final power. The arm holding Damien’s wrist began to turn to metal.
Damien tried to pull his sword free, but it wouldn’t budge. He kicked at Bahel’s torso, trying to break free, but Bahel’s body had already turned to metal, resisting the blow.
“I’ll use my body to trap you here. Even you won’t break free easily,” Bahel declared as his neck and face turned to metal, sealing his fate.
The moment the duke-level demon Bahel vanished from the world.
“My lord!” Asta, the bull-headed demon, wept.
“You can’t leave us like this!”
Asta charged at Damien, who extended his empty hand toward him. An invisible slash cut through Asta, splitting his body in two.
“Aaaargh!”
Asta screamed and rolled on the ground, but she quickly got back on her feet.
“Your Excellency!”
She was about to charge forward again when Laria grabbed her.
“Migmag! Open the portal!”
“Don’t stop me! I have to save His Excellency!”
“Migmag! Open it now!”
With a thud of his iron staff against the ground, Migmag summoned a massive portal.
The demons all leaped into the swirling gateway.
“Your Excellency!”
Asta’s cry echoed as the last of the demons vanished into the portal.