Chapter 65

When the first intelligent beings were born and looked around, they had to pick up stones and branches to fight beasts and monsters. What did they rely on? Was it the magical power that existed even then, though no one knew of it?

No. The primordial intelligent beings found the answer within themselves. What made humans superior to beasts? The foundation that allowed their intelligence to flourish.

They focused on their mental strength and created the Mental Arts. In Grimudo’s era, no one knew how to wield magical power, so instead, they cultivated their mental strength and used it to face their enemies.

Grimudo ended that era with his own hands, and since then, hundreds of cycles have swept the earth. Now, no one knows of the Mental Arts.

Later intelligent beings reached for magical power, which was easier and faster to enhance their strength, and everyone focused solely on studying magic. The era when all geniuses delved into mental strength can never be recreated, and the mental techniques are irrecoverable.

Thus, Grimudo’s Mental Attack is truly unique. It’s not just a technique he created alone but a trace of civilization refined by the geniuses of his era over countless years.

The problem is that Grimudo holds more than just that one trace of civilization.

*Crack!*

Grimudo neither dodged nor blocked the Demon Killer coming at him. The whip, as if alive, pierced the Demon King’s torso, and resentment writhed. The Western Family’s Demon Killer is a collection of the grudges and anger of those slain by demons, the screams of those who died unjustly.

A weapon similar to the Death God, created to eliminate evil with evil. Even after being struck directly by such a weapon, Grimudo remained silent, while Lucia Western screamed in rage. She shouted as she swung the whip with all her might.

“I will never compromise with demons!”

“Is that so?”

“Especially with you, Grimudo!”

Kyle seemed to have been in Larpentia, but Reinhaim couldn’t tell Lucia. It wasn’t about loyalty among comrades; if Grimudo appeared in the empire’s small cities, things would escalate. And Lucia truly didn’t want to compromise with him.

The one who reduced the Western Family to a state worse than death, who turned her parents and siblings into a tragic state, she wanted to kill him no matter what. Even if she couldn’t, she didn’t want to do him any favors.

“Grimudo. The Primal Demon King whose name I’ve only heard. We, the descendants of the Western Family, will surely defeat you.”

“We are the only weapon capable of defeating the strongest Demon King. The outcry of the trampled.”

“Descendant. Do not retreat. Hold onto us. We will assist you.”

The Demon Killer, a demonic weapon, grows by consuming the resentment of those slain by demons. The focal points of that resentment are the successive heads of the Western Family. This demonic weapon grows stronger by devouring the souls of past family heads, becoming increasingly powerful over time.

But that ends today.

“Then you have no business here either.”

Grimudo watched the whip struggling to pierce him, then calmly grabbed its tip with two fingers. The whip suddenly stopped and let out a fierce scream.

At first, it sounded like a scream of pain, then turned into sobbing before abruptly cutting off.

The part where his fingers touched bent weakly and snapped, and the entire whip shattered into pieces. Stunned by this, Lucia couldn’t even move.

“Do you think the power of resentment is great? Of course, it can be. But no matter how strong the resentment, it will shatter under stronger mental strength.”

This was a technique only possible for Grimudo, who had trained the Mental Arts to their limit. He crushed the resentment and ancestral spirits within the whip with his pure mental strength, overwhelming and destroying it. The Western Family’s treasure was shattered.

“No… no, no way…”

Even without being directly attacked, Lucia staggered and fell. She couldn’t get up again. Tears blurred her vision.

“No way…”

Now, the Western Family has nothing left. Even their symbolic whip is gone. Only she remains. It’s as if the family is already extinct.

It felt like a dream. Grimudo ignored her and walked toward Yurinel. Yurinel Larkponsia gripped the Sacred Sword with trembling hands.

The Lich Albatross and his minions had already fled, and Harmail lay groaning, unable to recover from the mental attack. Only Yurinel remained. It hadn’t been long since Grimudo appeared, and already things had come to this.

‘No one made a mistake.’

Was it because they fell into a trap? Absolutely not. From the moment Harmail thought of luring Grimudo, this outcome was inevitable. The reason it turned out this way was simply a matter of strength—first, second, and third.

‘No one made a wrong decision.’

The difference in strength. The most certain and ruthless factor. This absolute gap is why things turned out this way. In the end, their strength was nothing more than ashes before Grimudo.

‘We’re just… weak. Very weak.’

No one in the world could change this. Surrounded by a nightmare with no escape, Yurinel realized her true duty. She is the Hero. She is the one who must cut down such beings.

The Sacred Sword whispered. Do not retreat. Honestly, there’s nowhere to retreat to. Running is meaningless with such a gap. The only option is to fight to the end. Grimudo looked slightly surprised.

“How curious.”

One step. Then two. The Primal Demon King walked toward her at an unchanged pace, as if taking a stroll. For him, was this even a battle? It was no more than stepping on an ant. Yurinel swallowed hard.

“I thought you’d run away with your back turned. Now that the Ancient God’s priest who supported you is gone, you have nothing to rely on.”

Yurinel didn’t charge at him. She had to conserve her strength. Since Grimudo was coming to her, there was no need to waste energy running. She had to pour all her strength into every attack to even hope to wound him.

‘I don’t even hope to win.’

Just one scar that can never be erased. If Yurinel can leave even a small mark on the Primal Demon King, then her death won’t be in vain.

It’s resignation. Yurinel is, of course, a worldly person. But she’s not so cowardly as to kneel and beg for her life. As a Hero, she had at least that much resolve. She aimed the Sacred Sword, but the Demon King paid no heed and simply approached.

The Sacred Sword is a sword of exorcism. It holds absolute superiority against demons. But that’s because the Three Divine Gods, who forged the sword, are overwhelmingly stronger than demons. Grimudo? Could the Sacred Sword be reliable against such a terrifying being?

At best, they’re each other’s natural enemies. Or perhaps, not even that.

“People fear and revere me. Some even worship me. They see me as the savior who will overturn this rotten world. Yet, I still remember that I am merely a human.”

Facing certain defeat yet charging forward is courage. The Demon King was familiar with those who fled in fear. But those who fought to the end, even knowing it was futile, always felt fresh to him.

“I thought you’d show shamelessness and beg for your life. But you’ve shown the resolve to fight as a warrior before me, so I will respect your spirit.”

Magical power gathered in Grimudo’s hand, forming a sword of deep darkness. The Demon King lightly gripped it and replied.

“Come. I won’t use Mental Attacks.”

Defeating Yurinel is simple. Just meeting her gaze would empty her mind under the overwhelming mental shock, shattering it.

The mental strength of this great scholar, who has trained in the Mental Arts for hundreds of thousands of years, is so powerful that a mere whistle could control Yurinel like a puppet.

He promised not to use Mental Attacks. Not only that, he also declared he wouldn’t use magic.

“I won’t use magic either. Let’s compete purely in martial arts.”

He won’t use the Mental Arts he trained since his youth, nor the magic he honed after learning from dragons.

But Yurinel felt no relief. Nothing had changed. She still knew she had no chance of winning.

This is more despairing than a child fighting an adult. Even if the child uses everything they have, their tiny fists are easily subdued by the adult’s arm.

But she couldn’t not fight. Moments later, the Sacred Sword’s light cut through the darkness.