Chapter 47
‘Oh my. What’s this interesting human?’
The demon, feeling intrigued, was about to take a step toward the human when an intense energy struck him from behind like an ambush.
“Hhk.”
The demon froze, as if turned to stone, still looking at the woman. The energy wafting over was so strong it felt suffocating.
Ah. As he’d thought, the energy he’d sensed wasn’t a lie. The woman before his eyes was just a fake. The real demon was hiding behind, concealing its presence.
The demon already knew the owner of this energy. The one who commanded over twenty legions and ruled the land in the opposite direction from Lord Marbas. The incarnation of gluttony, Lord Beelzebub.
Normally, a mid-ranking demon like him might know the names of high-ranking demons but wouldn’t know their energy or appearance. However, as Marbas’s subordinate, he had served Marbas for a long time and followed him to various meetings and banquets. Thanks to that, the demon was acquainted with Lord Beelzebub. Of course, Beelzebub probably didn’t even remember having crossed paths with him.
[L-Lord Beelzebub.]
The demon sent a telepathic message without daring to turn around. He wanted to bow immediately and speak aloud, but overwhelmed by the energy, he couldn’t move an inch.
The humans standing before him looked confused at his drastically changed expression. No matter how ordinary humans couldn’t sense each other’s malice, it made no sense that they couldn’t detect this level of oppressive pressure. They simply couldn’t detect malice as “demonic energy,” but that didn’t mean they couldn’t sense malice as a “negative emotion.”
It was like this. While a gaze has no physical force, even when facing away, if someone stared at them intensely, they would notice that gaze. The vicious emotion of malice was similar. If someone in the same space wanted to crush and tear another apart, it was strange not to notice at all, even if they weren’t the target.
Then there was only one answer. Lord Beelzebub did not want them to notice his presence. For whatever reason, he must be carefully controlling his energy so it wouldn’t reach them.
[Answer without turning around. What are you doing here?]
[I’m watching the humans to make sure they don’t escape. Soon Lord Marbas’s followers will come to take them away.]
[Marbas’s followers?]
[Yes. That’s correct.]
As the sun set, the shadow of the high-ranking demon standing behind fell at the mid-ranking demon’s feet. The demon jerked in surprise and stepped away from the shadow. Between mid-ranking and high-ranking demons existed a massive barrier as wide as the sea and as high as the sky. He was a lowly creature who shouldn’t even step on Lord Beelzebub’s shadow.
Meanwhile, Eden was silently stunned by Bezel’s behavior after he followed them here. After seeing a demon, he should be running away or at least hiding somewhere, yet here he was boldly revealing himself. She’d even given him a gun to shoot if necessary, but whether he’d put it in his pocket or not, his hands were empty.
‘I shouldn’t have brought someone with no combat experience this far. Should I yell at him to run away now?’
Just as Eden decided she needed to send him away so she could fight with peace of mind, the demon’s terrified expression caught her eye.
The demon, who had looked aggressive until she asked who he was, now looked completely cowed. Eden looked at Bezel standing behind the demon with a sense of disbelief.
‘Bezel’s ability is this powerful?’
It was astonishing that his divine power was strong enough to overwhelm a mid-ranking demon, but now wasn’t the time to be impressed. Considering the demon’s speed she had just experienced, they’d be at a disadvantage in a real fight. Her body and head could be separated in the blink of an eye before she could even swing her sword once.
Then she needed to strike now while the demon was caught off guard. Eden bent her knees and lowered her upper body, then used the momentum to leap upward. Thinking could come after moving her body. She swung her sword diagonally, using logic completely opposite to Johan’s idea that one should think before moving.
Though she’d concealed her presence, the demon twisted his body as if it were nothing. Moving fast enough to leave an afterimage, he dodged the attack and swung his hand tipped with sharp claws.
“Where do you think you’re going!”
Clang! The sword and claws clashed, making a chilling sound. Knocked back, Eden planted her feet on the ground and leaped up again.
“Johan! I’ll take the front, you take the side!”
“Got it!”
Only then did Johan draw his sword and charge forward. The two swords simultaneously aimed for the demon’s head and side. If the opponent had been human, they would have aimed for the heart, but demons had no hearts. What occupied their left chest was only the vicious malice they were born with.
The demon didn’t dodge the attacks and waited for the two to get closer. Having horse legs, he was more confident in his speed than anyone. Once the two got close enough, he planned to spin around to avoid their attacks, then strike them from behind.
However, the situation didn’t go as he intended. It was when he was dodging the sword aimed at his head and the sword trying to stab his side in turn that he shouted.
“I’ll handle these humans, so don’t worry, Lo…!”
Bang! A loud noise pierced through his shout and split the air.
“Hrk…!”
The excruciating pain in his arm came next.
“Aaaagh!“
The demon let out an agonized scream at the burning sensation in his arm. Never in his life had he experienced pain this horrific. Even when chunks of flesh were torn out fighting a demon of similar rank, even when a huge hole was pierced through his stomach, it hadn’t been this excruciating.
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