<The Demon Lord of the Swordsmanship Family Chapter 88>
I originally dislike involving my friends with my own matters.
Asking for help feels awkward, and on top of that, it makes me feel guilty… anyway, these complex emotions simply weighed on me.
This might seem pathological, and while Mary and Joon-woo seemed to feel hurt by this at a glance, it’s a part of me that hasn’t changed yet despite my best efforts.
Anyway, putting aside these emotional parts, being alone was honestly more convenient for me.
Still, it was quite an exception for me to bring Jin Yu-ri along this time.
Of course, there were reasons.
First, Jin Yu-ri and I always work exceptionally well together.
Second, even if it’s just in the fragments of the world, Jin Yu-ri has witnessed the ‘angels’ along with me.
Third, and most importantly…
“Let me come! Please let me come!!”
…She wanted to come so fervently. She was lying on the floor, thrashing around like a kid protesting in a toy store—it was truly a spectacle.
I couldn’t believe someone her age, let alone Spring, would act that way, and for a moment, I felt my breath catch in my throat.
It reminded me of the time when everyone told me “Do your best” as we were climbing Jinryong Mountain.
Could it be that their hope was for Jin Yu-ri?
A chill ran down my spine.
Still, one thing was certain: Jin Yu-ri’s participation made things easier—for me, significantly.
“Unfolding.”
The moment we entered the Gate and unfolded Apocalypse, Jin Yu-ri searched for traces of ‘angels’ within the magic circle I had created.
“There’s none here.”
Fortunately, thanks to the world, Jin Yu-ri vividly remembers the mana frequency of those creatures. Probably more clearly than when she originally encountered them since the ‘world’ is like the source of mana on a grand scale.
So, I unfold, and she searches.
This alone made Jin Yu-ri a great help to me.
“There they are.”
Jin Yu-ri’s finger pointed toward a stone mountain.
“But Ki-hyuk, there are two of us, and I—”
“No.”
I cut her off. I know she’s trying to say “I’ll help” or something like that.
“Relax. You’ve done enough.”
“But—”
“If you really want to help, keep an eye on them.”
By “them,” I mean William and Rosaria. I believe no one would think I brought them along to offer support.
Their use here is quite simple—they’re “hostages.”
If they have nothing to do with this, then after a thorough questioning leading to “no evidence,” they remain as ‘hostages.’
However, if they’re found guilty of premeditated crime, then it will be ‘prison time.’
After waving to them, I shot toward my target.
I charged directly into the towering cliffside!
BOOM!!
The cliff shook violently.
It was shaking as if there were an earthquake, cracking in several directions while I was aiming for those fissures.
With a surge of demonic power, I thrust downwards, creating cracks.
SWORDHORRYU – STRONG SWORD TECHNIQUE
LANDSLIDE
Crack… Crack… CRACK…
The fissures spread like spiderwebs.
CRASH!!
The mountain began to crumble from the top, stones rolling and dislodging others, and the splitting cracks caused the mountain to collapse slowly like dominoes.
And then, finally revealed, were our angels—or more accurately, pigeon chicks.
Flap!
The birds attempted to spread their wings amidst the collapsing stone mountain, but I wasn’t about to let them go. I moved in immediately.
Suddenly, I thought of a comic I watched with Spring.
For some reason, they had a golden rule not to touch characters during their entrance or transformation scenes. Our intelligent Spring said this was because “it was righteous!”
I didn’t say anything about it at the time.
Reality can be cruel.
I intended to teach them about that cruel reality.
I rammed my shoulder directly into the torso of the angel spreading its wings. It was a charge fueled by acceleration, weight, and mana.
Naturally, they were sent flying like pigeons.
SQUEAL!!
I extended my arm to the side immediately after. There appeared to be nothing in the empty air, but I managed to grab something.
“Did you think I wouldn’t see you?”
“…!!”
The transparency faded, and in my grasp was…
A human being—fully intact and human. His priestly attire clearly proclaimed, “I’m a fanatic!”
“Ah… h-how…”
I have no intention of listening to his words.
CRUNCH!!
I tore off his arm.
“UUUUUUUGHHHH!!”
Still, these guys seem well-trained. Even while gushing bl**d, they managed an organized retreat.
At the same time, enemies surrounded me.
Out of nowhere, a group of men in priestly robes appeared.
There were six.
The angels also flapped their wings. There were two of them.
Amidst all that, something stood out—a set of armor gleamed in view. The kind of full plate armor only seen in the empire.
In comics, the one dressed most extravagantly is usually the boss.
Therefore, this guy was the boss.
You deserve a hit.
“In the name of our Lord…!!”
Before he could finish his sentence, he charged in.
My guess about them being trained didn’t seem to be wrong.
A shield protected their captain, a wall of wind blocked my way, and various curses and spells flew toward me. Debuffs and control spells also came flying.
However.
It was futile.
SWISHHHHH!!
Chains emerged through the space, shattering the magic.
They countered the debuffs for me.
Eliminating all magic before me, the chains brought the captain directly to my front.
“One down.”
I threw a punch.
CRUNCH!!
His molars clattered out. And yet he howled.
So I hit him again.
PUUUUUUNCH!!
I kept hitting… and hitting…
PUNCH!! PUNCH!!
Until he couldn’t even scream.
Finally, his mouth was toothless, his captain’s face now completely unrecognizable.
“Bind him and deliver him to Jin Yu-ri.”
A skeleton that emerged through the void nodded and carried the guy down to below the stone mountain.
Still, some of them attempted to rescue their captain.
“Not so fast.”
CHUNKCHUNKCHUNK!!
Chains entangled their surroundings like a net.
This path is blocked.
Darkness expanded rapidly, filling the surrounding areas. Now, there was no light in this space—only the abyssal darkness.
And amidst the darkness, my skeletons opened their eyes.
Their ominous energy flared like predators targeting prey, focusing on the enemies.
“…”
“…”
“…Our Lord.”
Believing they had surrounded me, it turned out they were the ones surrounded.
The tension was visible as the fanatics trembled in fear.
These guys were done. I had captured what looked like their leader, so they were no longer useful.
“You deal with these ones.”
The skeletons roared and charged toward them. There was the sound of black smoke, chains, and the grotesque cries of those corrupt humans.
Good, the atmosphere was perfect.
“What about you?”
Turning around, I faced the two angels. One had the figure of a white-haired Caucasian man, and the other looked like a typical yellow-skinned woman.
The angels wore elegant smiles.
Honesty, they were beautiful. In terms of appearance, it doesn’t get much better than this. Who would see these creatures as monsters that eat humans?
“…”
“Can’t talk? I thought the ones I saw a few days back could.”
“…”
“Looks like these ones haven’t eaten enough humans yet.”
I licked my lips and summoned the demon power. The demons emitted light as they manifested as a spear and a bow respectively.
“Let’s start the main game.”
The moment the hexagram magic circle emerged across the blade of the demon power…
I leaped into the sky. The angels also emitted a pure white light as they charged toward me.
I swung the demon blade.
CLANG!!
It was blocked by the spear.
A streak of light shot toward me from behind, but a large sound of clunking echoed as the magic circle deflected the arrow.
Immediately, lightning poured out from my magic circle, but the angels flapped their wings as if they had anticipated, countering it with their own magic.
The shining arrows were launched immediately afterward.
If I fired magic, they would block it and counter with their light arrows.
This was a monotonous standoff battle, yet at the same time, it was a fast-paced speed battle.
The two completely misaligned combinations clashed continuously.
“These bastards.”
Careful to keep their distances, maintaining speed, they would not initiate attacks—they only counterattacked.
This was a tactic used for attacking a relative stronger foe.
And it was thoroughly built around the concept of a human-centered fight.
“Where did you pick up mercenary skills? You’re fighting quite dirtily.”
You could debut as an assassin if you used the poison skills correctly alone.
“Let’s attempt to block these.”
The demon power briefly flashed, and then seven beams of light struck downward from the darkness.
SWORDHORRYU – QUICK SWORD TECHNIQUE
FALLING STARS
The seven streaks of ‘falling stars’ surged like lightning and tore through the angels.
The light clawed at their bodies.
But at that very moment.
SQUEAL?!
One of them threw their companion like a shield. Literally without any humor, they used their comrade as a shield.
The thrown angel blocked the falling stars with their entire body.
SWISHH!!
One of their arms was nearly sliced off and the ribs showed through the torn torso.
In the blink of an eye, the angel was utterly battered.
Toward this broken angel, the companion approached.
CRUNCH!!
And ate.
The angel was eaten.
Flesh-eating.
Cannibalism.
The wound began to heal.
The wings that had vanished while enduring the magic started regrowing, and a glossy sheen returned to the skin.
By the time that last chunk was chewed properly, a delicate halo hovered behind the angel.
“Interesting.”
Instinct awakened.
The canine teeth elongated, and the cruelty of a predator lit in the eyes.
Muscles contracted and expanded like a steam engine, emitting white vapor.
Finally, when the hexagram, Apocalypse, was engraved like a claw across my body…
“Time for round two starts.”
The demon blade was wailing.
After the battle.
I descended to the ruins of the stone mountain.
“Turned into a mess of poles.”
To be honest, the term ‘stone mountain’ is now past tense. There has been no mountain for quite a while; just scattered stones.
All I can see are piles of rocks, and the only things standing are me.
“It’s already evening. Let’s hurry.”
I flicked my fingers.
The gravity magic ‘Gravity’ manifested, causing the stones that were scattered on the ground to float.
And amidst the debris, there appeared some strange corpses.
There were angels who had died, oozing green bl**d.
“Profitable. Let’s loot these.”
30%.
The probability of a monster leaving a corpse behind was 30%.
As taught in class like before, out of ten monsters, seven dissolve into mana when they d*e. The remaining three leave behind bodies, which we call ‘loot.’
Looks like these variant monsters that traverse the Gate are still monsters. The fact that this rule applies proves that.
“I knew they were coming.”
If I sent these as a gift to my mother, I think she’d like that.
Mother will, I believe, wisely utilize these corpses. Imagining her delight made me more excited.
Now, I flew toward the kids.
But while I was flying, an unexpected yield followed.
Far away in the sky, bundles of chains were flying toward me. The thing that came to me like a delivery package was, surprisingly, humans.
It was that fanatic from earlier.
“Are they for me?”
Rattle, rattle.
The skeletons had retrieved the humans without any order from me.
The most surprising thing was that half of these humans were still alive!!
Of course, not a single one of them had all their limbs intact, but still, alive is alive.
“What adorable work!”
Cuddle, cuddle.
I fondly stroked their skulls, and the skeletons, enjoying it, rattled their jaws and shivered their bodies.
It used to be the day when the skeletons acted like mindless drones, carrying out commands without thoughts. But now, the skeletons who’d received plenty of affection would go the extra mile to repay me.
Indeed, the power of love is amazing.
“Ki-hyuk, over here! Over here!”
“Yeah, I see it.”
I landed next to Jin Yu-ri, who was tapping her foot impatiently.
“Did you get hurt?”
“I’m fine. What about you… Ah! Your back! Your back is torn!”
“Huh? There’s a wound on my back? I didn’t notice.”
“You’re impossible! You really cannot survive!”
Jin Yu-ri, flailing around, poured potion into my back despite my protests that I was fine. She kept fussing over me.
“Next time, I’ll fight too.”
“It’s fine if you’re okay.”
“No! It is NOT fine! I hate it!”
Jin Yu-ri, glaring with determination, as if she refused to back down.
There was something solemn about the atmosphere she was emitting.
Why was it, though, that I couldn’t help but laugh?
“Kehe.”
Looks like, after the skeletons did something cute earlier, now Jin Yu-ri was doing the same. My goodness, the cuteness in this world has really multiplied.
If all of this stems from the power of love, then this love…
“Is truly incredible.”
Swoosh, swoosh.
I pet Jin Yu-ri’s head as I walked forward.
“Let’s go eat.”
