Chapter 76
As demons rose in rank, they had evolved to look more and more like humans. The reason they mimicked the appearance and language of the prey they consumed was simple. To blend in naturally and hunt more easily.
However, no matter how closely the outer shell resembled a human, if the aura and presence were different, it was only a matter of time before their true identity was discovered. As a result, high-ranking demons were exceptionally skilled at concealing and hiding themselves, to the point of deceiving even exorcist priests.
If they could fool elite individuals with divine power, it went without saying for demons of lower rank.
Bezel decided that today, at least, he would not reveal his identity even to this demon called Sena, and would perform perfectly as a human.
“Eden, I think that house over there is the one Julien mentioned.”
“Ah, yeah. You didn’t need to tell me. The stench of blood is hitting me all the way here.”
Eden, who had been sniffing the air, wrinkled her nose. She swung her sword a couple of times to loosen her wrists, then gestured toward the house with her eyes as if to say let’s go.
Bezel followed behind Eden, pretending to inspect the gun she had given him. Inside the silver revolver were bullets Eden had gotten consecrated. Consecrated objects gave off an aura so repulsive that any demon would recoil from it. Only a demon of Bezel’s caliber could endure holding it. Any lesser demon would have screamed and hurled it away long ago.
Last time, he had been forced to fire a bullet to silence the centaur demon, but today there would be no need for this gun.
He was planning to get injured by Sena’s hand. A minor injury for him, but one that would feel significant to Eden.
Eden felt a certain degree of responsibility for his safety. That much was clear from the way she had called him “my person” during the last commission.
‘Knowing that woman’s personality, she would surely feel guilty if I got hurt, feeling sorry for me getting injured.’
Eden was weak against frail and pitiful people like Julien. Come to think of it, taking him in had been the same. No matter how much divine power he had, he was a man whose identity was unknown. Taking him home just because he was a victim of the incident who had lost his memories was unreasonable.
Yet the moment she had even the slightest justification, Eden had readily taken him in.
Money or compensation, even if she said such things every time, the truth was she was a more human and warm-hearted woman than anyone else. Being so emotional was exactly why she was still fixated on avenging her parents even now, seven years later.
At this point, even her rough behavior and blunt speech seemed like a disguise to hide a tender heart. Just as Bezel acted kind and gentle to conceal the darkness inside him.
In any case, what Bezel needed right now was an injury. He wanted Eden to pity him.
‘This man can’t do without me.’
And if that pity was then mistaken for affection, leading her to make some foolish decision, that would be the icing on the cake.
To achieve that, he first had to do something about this large, strong-looking body of his. A wound from a demon, obtained while following her, would be just right.
While Bezel silently mulled over his sinister plan, the two of them arrived in front of the house Sena had moved into.
“The door is open.”
Eden pressed herself against the wall and peered inside. The front door stood wide open, as if daring them to come in. At a glance, it almost looked like a welcome.
She had suspected it from the moment the demon was still here after slaughtering this many humans, but this Sena demon did not seem to be running from those who came to catch her. Rather, it seemed like she was waiting for them.
“Something about this feels off.”
Surely she wasn’t waiting for them because she wanted to die, so Eden had a strong gut feeling that some kind of trap had been set.
But there was nothing Eden could do about having that feeling. She was good with her body but utterly hopeless when it came to using her head. As they say, a slow mind makes the body suffer. Even if there was a trap, all she could do was make up for it with her reflexes.
“Fighting up close is something I can handle alone, so Bezel, just stand far back and fire a few shots when it looks like I’m in danger.”
“Yes, understood.”
It did not matter if he missed. A demon would be intimidated just by having a gun pointed at them.
“She probably already knows we’re here, so no point waiting. Let’s go in.”
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