Episode 582: Return of the Demon Instructor
The northern wind howled fiercely.
Baritan squinted against the biting cold, surveying his surroundings.
Snow stretched as far as the eye could see, piled up to his knees.
Just moments ago, he had been walking along a forested mountain path. Now, everything was frozen, a barren wasteland of ice and snow.
Crunch, crunch.
He trudged forward, pushing through the snow.
This wasn’t an illusion. Nor had he been teleported. Somehow, someone had transformed the landscape around him into this wintry expanse.
Perhaps a rift in space had opened, pulling him into this place. One thing was certain: this was the work of one of the Beheaders.
The Beheaders were formidable opponents precisely because their abilities were unpredictable. They didn’t rely on the blessings of dark gods, but each possessed a unique power granted by the Demon King.
And now, in the blink of an eye, the world had become a blizzard, one of those powers at play.
Baritan moved forward with calm determination. He wasn’t in a hurry. An ordinary human would have lost their mind by now, surrounded by nothing but white, tormented by the cold and isolation. It was a place befitting a demon.
He climbed the hill steadily. His reason was simple: from the top, he could see more clearly. When faced with the unknown, simplicity was key. Solutions would present themselves.
As he reached the midway point, a few snowballs tumbled down from above.
He looked up to see four Beheaders standing in a line atop the snow-covered hill. There was no sign of Neung Unpa or Hount. Perhaps it had been just him and these four from the start.
Drakan smirked, his voice carrying on the wind. “Welcome to my world.”
“Thanks for the welcome, but your world feels a bit lonely.”
“Does it? This world is shaped by your own abyss, after all.”
“Then it’s partly my world too, isn’t it?”
Drakan chuckled softly. “Stay a while, and you’ll find it’s not as pleasant as you think. Everyone’s abyss is a place of despair.”
“One more thing I’ve learned.”
”…?”
“The Demon King’s elite assassins are quite chatty. Especially you, with your pale face.”
Drakan laughed. “Is that so? Then I’ll stop the chatter here, as a courtesy to our guest.”
With a slight bow, Drakan raised his hands.
Suddenly, the ground shook violently, as if an earthquake had struck.
And then—
An avalanche of snow cascaded down towards Baritan, a massive wave of white.
Baritan watched the spectacle with a composed expression. A hint of a smirk played on his lips.
“Is that all you’ve got? Disappointing.”
Even as he spoke, the avalanche loomed closer, ready to swallow him whole.
In an instant, the avalanche took on a monstrous shape, jaws wide open to devour him.
“Enough of these petty tricks!”
Baritan shouted, drawing his sword and slashing through the air.
A powerful surge of energy erupted from the blade, slicing through the avalanche.
The snow shattered into dust, scattering in all directions.
In a flash, Baritan launched himself forward, leaping up the hill.
He soared into the sky, sword raised high, and descended with a mighty strike.
Behind him, the manifestation of a dark god roared, lending him its power.
This was the highest level of divine power, where the god itself appeared, amplifying the user’s strength tenfold, even twentyfold.
With the dark god’s power at his back, Baritan fell like a comet, sword aimed at Drakan.
Drakan spread his arms wide.
The snow around them coalesced into sharp, icy spears, hurtling towards Baritan.
The ice exploded around him, a relentless barrage that would have terrified any onlooker.
Drakan watched, his brow furrowed. Baritan was no ordinary opponent.
A typical demon would have been overwhelmed by the onslaught of ice spears.
But now…
‘He’s getting closer!’
Indeed, the point of impact was descending, Baritan forcing his way through with sheer power.
Drakan’s ice weapons were harder than most metals, yet Baritan shattered them, drawing ever nearer.
Drakan spread his arms again.
The ground trembled, and a massive spear of ice erupted from the earth, aimed at Baritan.
Smaller ice spears continued to bombard him.
Finally, the colossal spear shot towards Baritan.
Baritan’s sword clashed with the giant ice spear.
But this time, even Baritan couldn’t withstand it.
The ice spear soared into the sky, and Baritan was flung back.
Drakan sneered. “This is my world, after all.”
“Not entirely,” murmured Kamenjail, the green-skinned demon beside him.
Drakan frowned.
Baritan, having landed, charged forward again.
In a blink, he vanished, reappearing behind Drakan, sword poised to strike.
But something gripped his head, and Baritan hesitated, eyes widening.
Drakan spun, slashing his sword horizontally.
Kamenjail, standing behind him, vanished like a mirage.
Simultaneously, Baritan expelled the foreign energy invading his body.
A green aura rose from his skin like a heat haze.
Kamenjail’s eyes gleamed. “You expelled my poison. Impressive.”
“Poison, was it?” Baritan taunted, and Kamenjail scowled.
“Arrogant demon. No wonder you dared to plot rebellion.”
The hooded demon, Raknas, spoke up. “That’s not arrogance, just stupidity. Thinking you could defy the Demon King. Foolish or insane.”
“True enough,” Kamenjail agreed.
Baritan chuckled at their banter. “Done talking?”
”…”
“If you’re finished, let’s end this.”
Baritan’s power surged, a visible aura enveloping him.
Kamenjail’s expression turned icy as he spread his hands.
The white snowfield began to turn a deep green, spreading outward.
“If you’re so confident, try playing in a field of poison.”
“I won’t hold back!”
Baritan shouted, charging forward.
“Such insolence must be corrected before death,” Raknas said, extending his hands.
In an instant, Baritan felt his breath catch, his body lifting into the air.
Raknas’s specialty was creating a zero-gravity vacuum around his target.
The Beheaders were unaffected.
‘Damn these bastards!’
Baritan swallowed his anger, distributing his power throughout his body.
Unable to breathe, he searched for a way out of this predicament.
**
“They’ve vanished,” Neung Unpa muttered, frowning.
Hount’s voice was cold. “They’ve moved to a subspace.”
“The Beheaders have such a power?”
“When all four are together, yes.”
“And if even one of them is killed?”
“The rift in the dimension might shatter, and there’s a high chance it’ll reappear here. Of course, this is just speculation since I haven’t experienced it myself.”
Naturally, it could only be speculation.
Anyone ensnared by the Beheaders was as good as dead.
No one knew what methods they used or what special abilities they possessed.
After all, how could there be witnesses if no one survived?
Yet…
“I trust you, my lord. You must survive.”
Muttering to himself, Haunt slowly gathered his magical energy and turned around.
“Now it’s your turn to answer.”
“Answer what?”
“Why did you betray us?”
Neung Unpa chuckled softly.
“Wasn’t it just a matter of who would cut ties first?”
“Humans truly are untrustworthy creatures.”
Neung Unpa frowned.
“True, I’m not like the demons. But I’m not like humans either. I’m… a special being. And there’s one more thing that’s certain.”
“And what’s that?”
As Haunt furrowed his brow, Neung Unpa smirked.
“That you’ll die here!”
In an instant.
Whoosh!
Clang!
With a deep blue flash, Neung Unpa’s blade clashed against Haunt’s sword.
The impact was so intense that both their bodies trembled.
Haunt felt sweat trickling down his back.
‘This lunatic…!’
The shock was so powerful it shook his very core.
How could a half-formed demon wield such strength?
Typically, when humans ascend to demonhood, their abilities depend on the sacrifices they offer.
Until now, no one could rival Helmut, who was born a king and sacrificed his people.
Among demons of impure lineage, he was unmatched.
But now…
‘This is even more…’
Neung Unpa, with their swords locked, grinned.
“You seem surprised.”
Haunt couldn’t deny it.
At this moment, only one thought occupied his mind.
‘Can I really win?’
It was humiliating to entertain such doubts against a demon of human origin, but deep within, a primal fear for survival was slowly creeping in.