Daemon, upon seeing Kail perched on his shoulder, created a new mouth on his shoulder and swallowed Kail whole.
Feeling the ground suddenly give way, Kail quickly emitted Aura from below his feet to prevent himself from falling into Daemon’s body.
Landing on the roof of a nearby building, Kail wiped off the cold sweat.
‘I forgot…’
The demon in front of him wasn’t a creature made of blood and flesh, but a lifeform composed of magic power and magic.
It had two arms, two legs, two horns, eyes, nose, and mouth—everything was there, so he forgot. That was just camouflage to spread its name far and wide.
Demons could change their appearance at will anytime.
─Graaaah……
The demon who missed Kail let out a low roar as if disappointed, then slowly started walking outside the city walls.
Seeing the demon’s intent to devour as many humans as possible, Kail jumped down from the rooftop and landed on the ground.
As the demon passed by, the undead that were naturally absorbed clung tightly around the demon’s ankles.
“Hup-!”
Kail completely severed the demon’s ankle to free the undead. The Aura Blade slashed through the demon’s leg, causing it to lose balance and collapse onto the ground.
Thud! The fallen demon turned its head towards its severed foot and spotted Kail smirking while holding the Aura Blade.
─Kraaah!
Overwhelmed by rage, the demon transformed its body into an amorphous form and charged at Kail like a tidal wave.
Watching the red tidal wave rushing towards him, Kail kicked off from a nearby building and leapt up to the rooftop.
‘Crazy…’
No matter how skilled Kail was, he couldn’t cut water with a sword. If he swung his sword against that jelly-like mass, he would’ve been swept away and swallowed by the current.
The demon, having missed Kail, reverted back to human form and swung its arm towards him.
A powerful strike capable of demolishing an entire building shattered the structure where Kail stood, sending him flying through the air.
“This bastard…?”
Falling through the air, Kail chuckled bitterly as he saw the demon transforming into a net-like shape to capture him.
This demon wasn’t thinking of fighting him at all. Just as humans don’t fight flies or mosquitoes, the demon merely regarded Kail as a slightly annoying fly.
Having never experienced such disregard since becoming a Master, even Kail’s pride began to take a hit.
“Alright, let’s do this.”
Kail switched the sword from his left hand to his right and began emitting Aura from his left hand.
The emitted Aura transformed into a sword, and with radiant beams bursting forth, Kail held dual Aura Blades and leapt towards the demon.
Cut.
Swing.
Slash wildly, tear apart, split the world.
By the time a red mist began to obscure the sun around him, Kail had pierced through the demon’s body and emerged on the other side.
The demon, wounded by Kail, attempted to regenerate back into human form but noticed something strange and looked down at its chest in confusion.
─Guhhh…!?
There was a gaping hole in the center of the demon’s chest. The regenerative-blocking power of the Aura Blade. Kail pointed his blazing Aura Blade at the demon and delivered his final verdict.
“Go back to where you came from, you damn Illegal Stayer.”
Snap-.
He grasped the swords in both hands.
The combined Aura Blade grew large enough to slice through the demon in one go.
Facing the gleaming blade, shining like a star in the sky, the demon instinctively tried to transform and evade, but Kail’s sword was faster.
Meyer Style
Lightning
The demon’s body disintegrated entirely, scattering in all directions.
Kail carefully sheathed his sword after the demon completely disappeared.
“…Phew.”
He then collapsed onto the rooftop, breathing heavily. He had expended so much Aura that his heart was going haywire.
Afraid he might pass out if he relaxed even for a moment, Kail bit his lip and stared up at the sky.
The remnants of the demon he destroyed were burning under the sun.
* * *
─Gurgle, grrr…
Demons were lifeforms made of magic power and possessed the ability to regenerate their entire body as long as they had sufficient magic power, even if only a part of their body remained.
The severed chunks of flesh each had their own consciousness, and this large chunk, which was the first to be cut by Kail, decided to flee after witnessing Kail shatter its main body.
Escaping wasn’t difficult. The chunk of flesh swiftly escaped the territory through the city’s sewer system. Riding the current to exit the city didn’t take long.
Not long after, the chunk reappeared by the riverside outside the territory and floated downstream toward a larger area, likely the sea.
However, its journey didn’t last long.
“Oh my.”
A woman riding a horse cautiously observed the chunk of flesh from atop her mount. The aura of a demon—there was no way she wouldn’t recognize a piece of demon flesh this close, detectable even from afar.
“─Oh God, your enemy lies below.”
As the woman recited a prayer atop her horse, the chunk of flesh turned to ashes and vanished. After confirming the complete disappearance of the demon flesh, the woman addressed the paladins following her.
“Andrei, check downstream and upstream for any remaining pieces.”
“Yes, understood, Saintess.”
“We’ll speed up.”
The woman referred to as the Saintess spurred her horse towards Etalin Territory, followed by hundreds of paladins.
* * *
“Carefully! Move slowly!”
“The black mage is dead, but his magic may remain! Be careful not to trigger any traps unless you want to end up dead too!”
Shortly after Kail defeated the demon, Count Karl began directing his soldiers to search for remaining traps around the territory.
Mages cast detection spells with every step to sense dark magic, while knights trampled the ground like plowing fields to confirm the presence of traps.
Advancing at a rate of 1 meter per minute, the count’s soldiers suddenly noticed something approaching from afar and shouted in alarm.
“Wait, stop! Don’t move! There are traps everywhere─.”
“─Oh God, purify this barren land.”
As the woman approaching from afar prayed, a brilliant white light descended upon Etalin Territory. Realizing that all traces of dark magic had vanished, the count’s mages were astonished while the woman who eradicated the dark magic from the entire territory with a single prayer slowly approached.
Recognizing her by her pink hair, the count greeted her respectfully.
“The master of the Meyer Clan greets the Saintess.”
“Ah, you must be Count Meyer. I am Lagraisha, the Saintess.”
The Saintess, treated similarly or even above the Pope, was the second most powerful figure in the Holy Kingdom. The count was well aware of what her personal visit meant.
“The reinforcements sent by the Empire…”
“Oh, no. We received a separate divine message leading us here.”
“A divine message…?”
“That demons would descend and destroy this land… but it seems we’re a bit late.”
Lagraisha spoke while surveying the ruined city. There was no trace of the demon. Had the demon still been alive, the city wouldn’t have merely crumbled—it would have been completely obliterated, leaving no survivors.
In other words, someone had already dealt with the demon.
‘Who could it be?’
Her arrival as the Saintess hadn’t been in vain. Demons weren’t creatures easily defeated, impossible to subdue with mere soldiers or Expert-level knights.
Yet among the Meyer Clan’s knights, there was no one particularly noteworthy. Even if there were such a strong individual, it would be odd for them to serve under a mere Expert-level count…
“Haaahm… Father, can I get the mage to help me shower?”
At that moment, Kail appeared covered in chunks of demon flesh. Seeing the demon flesh on Kail, the Saintess realized he was the one who had defeated the demon.
Watching Kail converse with the count, the Saintess cautiously approached him.
“Let me wash you.”
“Oh, the gentle touch of a beautiful woman is always welcome.”
Kail grinned as he turned towards the pink-haired woman who addressed him. Unsure of how exactly she intended to wash him, he stood still as she quietly prayed, casting light upon Kail.
Realizing the light was cleansing the chunks of flesh and blood from his body, Kail recognized who the pink-haired woman was.
“…This is…”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Lagraisha, the Saintess.”
The Saintess looked up at Kail with sparkling eyes.
“May I ask the Hero’s name?”
