I Saved a Demon, and Now He’s After Me - Chapter 25

Eden had been stronger than others since birth. When she was just crawling, she would lift dining chairs with ease, and by the time she took her first steps, she was flipping over low tables. Since her strength was so great, the scale of accidents she caused was also extraordinary, and she had heard her parents had quite a hard time because of it.

That didn’t mean her childhood dream was a physical job, especially being a Hunter. Who would want a job where you might die at any moment? It was a profession that would be difficult to choose unless you had a strong sense of mission to eliminate demons and save humanity.

Eden had ignored her outstanding athletic abilities and lived an ordinary life like everyone else. Wrestling, track and field, even shot put. Countless sports organizations tried to scout her, but each time she flatly refused without even considering it.

A life of constant competition and sharpening herself was something she absolutely hated.

Eden had been quite satisfied with her life at that time. Days of getting scolded by her mother for waking up late before going to the academy, being nagged by her father for bringing home failing test papers, but then in the evening, the whole family would gather together and eat dinner peacefully.

Having grown accustomed to this peace, Eden had decided that rather than let pointless worries intrude on her life, she would graduate from the academy without much effort, get a job at some ordinary factory like everyone else, and live a life that might not be outstanding, but wouldn’t be lacking either.

But unfortunately, her wish never became reality. Fate can be so cruel. She lost that precious family and ended up walking a path completely opposite to the ordinary life she had wanted so much.

From the day she lost her family, Eden drove herself hard every single day. Sure, nowadays she occasionally rests when there’s no work, but when she first stepped foot into the Hunter world, that was absolutely out of the question.

At dawn, she would go to a nearby park and run ten laps. After washing up, she would take a train to commission sites and hunt demons. Even after finishing her work and returning home, she couldn’t rest comfortably. She would lift weights, do handstands, and swing swords to build stamina and hone her skills.

That’s how she had made it to today. Seven years later, Eden had become a skilled Hunter so famous that there wasn’t a person in the Empire who didn’t know her.

However, if there was one thing she lacked…

“No, that skill only works when a demon actually shows up! Where the hell is this damn demon!”

Caw- caw- caw-

A large flock of crows shrieked all at once and took flight.

The forest. Yeah, good, this is perfect. Since it’s trapped in here, even if all it can do is peck around, the villagers won’t suffer any damage, which is great. The problem was that there were too many crows in this forest.

Eden couldn’t sense malice. Malice was the unique evil energy that demons possessed, and it was also the driving force of their existence. Since it wasn’t visible to the eye, even ordinary priests couldn’t distinguish between demons and humans unless they were exorcist priests with divine power. If even clergy were like that, how much more so for Eden, who despite being a Hunter, was still completely an ordinary person?

“Damn it. At this rate, I’ll be here all night. I should probably charge extra for an overnight stay. Ugh, why are there so many damn weeds?!”

Eden, irritated, took out her frustration on the grass blocking her view.

“Scary, it’s scary. Caw caw.”

A voice that sounded terrified came from deep within the thick undergrowth. Eden quickly lowered her upper body, held her breath, and listened carefully.

“Scary, scary. Caw, if I get caught, I’ll die. I’ll get devoured!”

The voice that followed spoke perfect human language, enough to mistake it for a person hiding. But the ear-piercing caws in between told her it was neither human nor beast.

Oh. What’s this about? The demon she thought she’d absolutely never find today was cawing away and revealing its own location.

‘Do low-ranking demons lack not just ability but brains too? Maybe it’s because it’s in crow form, what a real birdbrain.’

Eden bent her knees and adjusted her grip on her sword handle. After silently taking a deep breath, she shot forward like an arrow.

From the moment she heard the voice, she had already pinpointed its location. She drove her sword down into the ground where the crow would be sitting.

“Cawwwwww!”

Thunk. A sharp bird’s scream pierced her eardrums, along with that creepy feeling she could never get used to, no matter how many hundreds of times she’d experienced it.

The crow, one wing suddenly pierced through, started flapping its other wing. Eden stepped on that wing too, completely pinning it to the ground.

“Caw! I, I was wrong! Please spare my life!”