kscans

Chapter 221 - The Demon Duke

What appeared was a grotesque being that surpassed the Chimera.

It had the head of an owl, the torso of a beast, sharp claws, a tail, and wings.

And I could tell from its presence alone—this thing was alive. It wasn't Undead like the last one. And it was strong. Very strong.

"I completely misjudged," I gritted my teeth.

After all, I had thought the chimera-fied Rodel we just fought was the root cause and had used my trump card on it.

Thanks to `Turmoil`, my magic was still draining away. This was bad. I had to take it down quickly, before I ran out of magic.

As I gripped my katana, the grotesque creature spoke.

"Hoh, you still wish to fight?"

"What? You can speak the human language?" I blurted out in surprise.

The grotesque being replied, "Well, that's a natural reaction. It's unheard of for a monster to speak human words. I'm sure you can guess from the situation, but I'll say it anyway. I am the root cause of the turmoil happening on this continent."

It gave a hideous grin.

I felt a sense of terror, but I had no time to be afraid.

Tina, who had come to my side, said, her voice laced with anger, "You said you were the root cause. Why are you doing this?"

Of course she was angry. He was causing trouble for so many people. Anyone would be furious.

The grotesque being declared, "To rule the continent. To become the king of all humans."

He said something outrageous.

Disgusted by his words, I retorted, "King of humans? Are you kidding me? After hurting so many people, what gives you the right to say that?"

I was even angrier than Tina.

I wasn't saying it to play the hero of justice. I just wanted to live a peaceful life in this world, hunting monsters at my own pace. Lately, I've been training to defeat that guy, but I had planned to return to my old life after it was all over.

The grotesque being spoke as if intoxicated by its own words.

"There is no peace without sacrifice. I will demonstrate my leadership over many monsters and my overwhelming violence, and I will make the humans taste fear. Then, I will destroy the royal capitals of the four nations, and when the humans have despaired and given up everything, I will rule over them. It will be the beginning of a peaceful world."

Both Tina and I fell silent. There was nothing more to be said.

"Have you made your peace, monster?" I said. "I'm going to hunt you down right here."

I poured magic into my katana, and a faint purple light flickered around it.

Tina also poured magic into her sword and readied her sword of light.

Sensing the killing intent from the two of us, the grotesque being said, "If you think you can, then try it. I cast aside my true name when I died. My current name is Amon! I am one who has taken in a demon from another world!"

It roared.

The roar was so powerful it sent out a shockwave through the air.

Amon. One of the seventy-two demons said to have been commanded by King Solomon.

His name was famous enough to be known even in Japan.

I hadn't faced a monster this powerful since Sidoor. I wasn't trembling—I was fired up.

Finally. The time had come to know the limits of my own power!

My earlier anger was gone. As soon as the vibrations subsided, I charged straight ahead.

Meanwhile, the General was in the midst of the battle with the monsters. A mysterious monster had suddenly appeared over there. Like the Chimera before it, it was a creature he had never seen before, and a dangerous one.

"This is bad. They're over there all by themselves. I have to get there quickly," he thought, a look of panic on his face.

"G-General! A new group of monsters!"

The direction the knight pointed to showed more monsters heading their way.

Their ranks included several Ogres, a few Flame Wolves, and even five high-ranking Great Ogres.

"At a time like this..." the General cursed. "Everyone! Are you prepared?!"

The faces of the soldiers were expressionless.

They no longer believed they could make it back alive. Their faces were those of men who had chosen this place as their final resting place.

The human army charged at the monsters with desperate resolve.

I slashed at Amon.

My purple katana was about to cut off Amon's right leg. Amon pulled his leg back, dodging the attack. My katana sliced through empty air.

Amon immediately kicked with his right leg.

I poured magic into my armor, increasing its defensive power. Amon's kick sent me flying. About five meters. I bounced once, but thanks to the armor, I felt no pain. Just a slight cough.

Tina saw an opening in Amon's attack and moved in from the left. Her sword of light sliced through Amon's left flank.

Green blood gushed out like a broken dam. But it regenerated almost instantly.

Amon moved as if he had never been injured and threw a left backfist at Tina.

Tina wreathed her feet in wind and moved at high speed, as if on roller skates. The backfist cut through empty air.

Amon clicked his tongue. Annoying little pests that moved around were a nuisance.

I steadied my breathing and immediately charged forward in a straight line.

My speed was immense; it took only a second to close the distance to Amon.

Maintaining my momentum, I raised my sword high.

"Cheeeeeeeeeeestoooooooo!"

I brought it down with all my might.

I slashed Amon's torso. Green blood gushed from the wound. Amon, his face contorted in agony, swung down with the claws of his right hand.

I put power into my legs and dodged. My posture was off, and I rolled away.

Blood was flowing from his torso. I expected it to regenerate immediately. But it wasn't regenerating. No, to be precise, the regeneration speed was slow.

Amon said, "As I thought, that katana is dangerous. But..."

A Scorching Inferno erupted around Amon's entire body.

From a distance, it looked like he had been set on fire and was no longer alive. But I knew that in cases like this, it was a technique that simultaneously boosted both defense and attack power.

I had seen similar techniques in games and anime. When this happened, the number of available moves decreased, and things got tricky.

I was right. The wound on his torso regenerated in the blink of an eye. This technique also seemed to enhance his regenerative power.

Seeing this, Tina shouted, "Heavy Water Cannon!"

She shot a torrent of water.

She had judged that the situation was dire and unleashed a blast powerful enough to extinguish the flames. But the flaming body was only slightly diminished and still going strong.

Tina continued to fire without giving up.

But I stopped her. "Stop. It's no use doing any more."

Tina panicked and retorted angrily, "Why?! This is our chance while he's not moving!"

I calmly replied, "It's a waste of magic. Look."

I pointed at Amon.

Amon, wreathed in flames, showed no signs of panic at Tina's attack. He exuded an air of coolness.

"You're right," Tina said, calming down and stopping her attack.

Even though we had stopped moving, Amon remained motionless, wreathed in flames. It seemed to be an absolute defense stance.

"But we don't need to wait for him to act," I said, readying my katana. "I'll extinguish the flames. I'm counting on you to attack in the opening."

Tina replied, "Indeed, that seems to be the one thing he's wary of. In that case, I'm counting on you."

She created her sword of light.

Internally, I was panicking. The effect of `Turmoil` was running out. I couldn't afford to waste any more time.

"Evil-Cleaving Flash!"

I unleashed a horizontal slash from my right.

Amon didn't move and met the attack with his flame-wreathed right hand. It seemed he couldn't move, but he could attack. But the moment my blade touched his hand, the flames on it were extinguished.

I parried his claw with my katana and moved to the left, away from him.

Tina immediately moved to where I had been. She severed his right hand with her sword of light.

Amon screamed. It seemed that while he could regenerate attacks from anything other than my katana, the pain was still the same.

"You insolent brat!" Amon roared.

The inferno around his body vanished.

A sword of flame appeared from his severed right hand. He swung it down at Tina, who was right in front of him. Tina blocked it with her sword of light.

She thought that since it was made of light, it would cut through even if she blocked. But it couldn't cut.

The flame sword seemed to have the same high-density temperature as light. It was similar to a technique I often used.

The two were locked in a stalemate. But Tina was at a disadvantage. In a pure contest of strength, Amon was superior. Tina was gradually being pushed back. Amon's attention was focused on what was in front of him.

I used that opening to attack Amon from behind.

A pincer attack from the front and back. Even a master would find it difficult to handle. It was cowardly, but this was war. If we didn't win, it was meaningless.

However, Amon's tail lashed out at me.

I met it with my katana. Just before it made contact, spikes emerged from the tail. They were two meters long. If this continued, I would be skewered for sure.

I cut down several of the needles with my katana and dodged.

But a few of them pierced my right leg and left shoulder. Pain shot through my body.

I endured it, cut away the parts that were pierced, and moved away from Amon.

A dull pain remained in my right leg, but I put strength into it. My left shoulder also hurt, and my left arm wouldn't move much, but I was right-handed to begin with. It wasn't a problem.

For Tina's sake, who was still holding on, I put strength into both my legs and leaped toward Amon's back.