### Chapter 57: The Demon and the Madman (Part 1)
The sky was a chaotic canvas of swirling dark clouds.
As dusk descended, the horizon painted the sky and earth in contrasting shades of fiery red and deep blue.
On one side, the vibrant sea stretched out, while on the other, the fire-devoured coastline and dilapidated village continued their gruesome performance of slaughter. Frantic cultists wielded knives, chasing and pillaging, while scattered knights formed desperate circles, backs against each other as they fought for their lives. In the corners, children cried silently, and livestock, engulfed in flames, bolted through the chaos until they collapsed, only to be swarmed by heretics who eagerly devoured them, bl**d splattering everywhere.
From the Eastern Continent came the bloodthirsty hyenas and wolves, trampling the already barren beach, turning it into a true graveyard. Occasionally, they would be struck down, only to rise again with even greater ferocity, like demons clawing their way out of hell, slaughtering the knights defending the village, ripping off their armor, seizing their blades, and using those very weapons to harm every living thing in sight. The demons laughed maniacally, their bodies ablaze like true fiends, leaving nothing but scorched earth in their wake.
Several miles away from this fiery chaos, a hundred Church Knights, bloodied and barely alive, knelt in rows, their hands bound behind their backs and some stripped of clothing. Countless heretics circled them, and facing them, less than ten meters away, stood a group of ragged and panicked villagers.
Among these villagers, more than half had been unable to escape during the legion’s retreat—there were men, women, and children mixed in, while the other half consisted of the elderly, too frail to keep up.
These unfortunate souls had been caught by the heretics, initially expecting certain d*ath. However, much to their surprise, the savage demons from the East—those barbaric cannibals—didn’t attack them, but instead gathered the meek and obedient into one place.
How lucky…
Those who dared to resist were dead, yet here they were, alive…
Despite their relief, the villagers felt a gnawing dread about what was to come. Fear rendered them almost paralyzed, limbs weak and shaky. Some wet their pants, and others were barely dressed, but in this situation, no one cared about appearances; their sense of shame buried beneath overwhelming terror.
And as they faced the bewildered and anxious gazes of the villagers, the knights nearby, similarly unclad and bound, were filled with shame.
What they felt guilty about was not being able to protect these people. Although they didn’t fully grasp the heretics’ plans, they had a general idea of the fate that awaited the villagers. This knowledge filled them with shame and anger, mixed with fears they didn’t even want to admit to themselves: a desire to survive, a deep understanding that d*ath was approaching, yet uncertain of when or how. In the agony of it all, a chilling tremor began to seep from their core, growing more profound with each passing moment.
Yet, the pride of a knight kept them from acknowledging that tremor. Instead, they spat bl**d and turned their complex emotions into angry words, shouting at the heretics surrounding them.
“A bunch of untamed wild dogs! Evil sc*m striking deals with demons! If you dare, just k*ll me—”
“Bah!”
“Stinking bugs from the Eastern Continent! Your methods are filthy! Your power is despicable! You think you can win like this? The Deity will see your vile deeds and punish you—”
“No need to dirty the eyes of the Great Deity! When our commander regroups, you’ll never leave this land alive!”
“If we can’t k*ll you this time, we’ll come back ten times, a hundred times!”
The knights’ impotent fury erupted into loud laughter.
“Hahahahaha!!!”
“We are knights of noble faith! Even if we d*e here today, the Great Deity will embrace us! And you wild dogs! A wretched bunch worshipping demons without a shred of dignity! Your filthy souls will become fodder for demons! Keep being reckless while you can! Soon, you’ll all be in hell! Hahahaha—”
“Once the Faith Organization is ready, the miracle of retribution will fall upon you! Our comrades will sever your heads to avenge us!”
“You are destined for hell!”
“Clueless wild dogs—”
As the insults flew, one person suddenly stood up, charging at the surrounding heretics with their knives, knocking over a couple before being overwhelmed and sliced to pieces, their corpse hanging limply from a nearby tree.
The villagers fell silent, unable to watch.
They thought: What an idiot. Good thing I didn’t resist…
The heretics, noticing the commotion, laughed even harder: “Did you hear what they’re shouting?”
“Miracles of retribution? The Faith Organization? Do they think such things can stop us… these stubborn and pathetic knights are facing their end and are still lost in foolish dreams.”
“They don’t even know who we are.”
“Ah hahahaha—”
Amid the chaos, Mr. J stood aside, idly digging in his ears, seemingly finding the ruckus bothersome but not bothering to stop anyone.
Whether the knights faced d*ath or the heretics found amusement, Mr. J remained uninterested and uninvolved, strolling leisurely toward the frightened villagers.
He then focused on the villagers, suddenly becoming a bit twitchy, sticking his little finger in his ear, then blowing and flicking it, grinning like a maniac.
“I say… what do you think? What are you all thinking?”
His voice, rather quiet, mixed in with the surrounding cacophony of insults, yet rang sharply in the ears of each villager.
Their faces were filled with confusion as they exchanged glances, quickly bowing their heads, unsure how to respond, too terrified to speak, even to look at Mr. J—the demon leader they had identified, his piercing eyes like daggers.
Fearing they’d draw the demon’s attention and be devoured alive.
“Bad guy, demon…”
Suddenly, a quivering, high-pitched voice broke through the crowd.
The villagers turned to see a tiny, frail girl with yellow hair, whose malnourished body was hidden in the crowd. Upon hearing her words, the villagers instinctively made way, either shuffling sideways or stepping back, exposing the little girl to Mr. J’s gaze.
Despite her obvious fear, with her tiny fists trembling, she breathed rapidly, as if those two words had used up all her strength and courage.
But unlike most, despite her terror, her wide eyes were fixed on Mr. J. When the demon looked her way, the girl shivered slightly, tensing up even more, yet she did not avert her gaze.
Next to her, the seemingly old and stooped village chief quickly wrapped his arms around her protectively.
The villagers recognized this was the chief and his granddaughter.
They hadn’t escaped either…
Always showing goodwill to the knights, giving gifts. They even once forced the villagers to gather eggs, all for that commander guy. Saying nice things about the knights being our heroes, claiming they had goods to share… in reality, wasn’t it just to ensure that if they lost, their granddaughter could run away with them?
Now that escape was impossible, she still had to meddle. They remembered that the girl was usually shy, barely spoke to strangers, so why today did she have to be so vocal…
What if that demon planned to spare us? Maybe he had something he wanted us to do, and if we did it right, we wouldn’t even d*e, plus we might get paid…
If only that were true…
After all, we’re innocent. This isn’t our fault…
But if she said something like that and angered the demon, we’d all be done for…
The villagers held their breath, instinctively keeping their distance from the village chief and the little girl.
Mr. J noticed their reactions.
He waved his hand dismissively: “No, no, you might be misunderstanding me. I’m not asking how you see me. I’m saying… ah, but you just mentioned demons. That little girl, she said I’m a demon… I know she’s talking about me… Even if you don’t say it, you’re surely thinking the same thing. That’s understandable; I can relate to you—”
“No, we—we don’t think that…”
When the villagers heard Mr. J say they thought that too, they panicked.
“We don’t think you’re… that demon… you haven’t killed us yet…”
“Right, we… we don’t think…”
“It’s just what the village chief’s granddaughter said… not us… we didn’t say…”
They were terrified.
Terrified that just by speaking those words, he would demand the lives of everyone present—those heretics hadn’t killed them yet, only those who resisted. This proved they had a chance to live. Although these people looked frightening, perhaps they were actually decent folks who wouldn’t k*ll innocents, especially since they hadn’t resisted…
“Shh…”
Mr. J placed his finger to his lips, signaling them to be quiet.
So they all fell silent.
The knights’ raucous insults became much more grating.
If only those knights could just shut up…
The villagers thought in unison.
Let these people k*ll us peacefully…
Why yell so loudly…
Just don’t involve us…
The villagers clammed up, and Mr. J, quite pleased, continued, “You’re afraid of me, thinking I’m a demon, believing you’ve spent your whole lives fishing here, only for the fish you caught to go unsold because merchants hardly come… In reality, you probably never even thought to sell them. You catch just enough for yourselves; you’re honest and hard-working people, living tough lives, too afraid even to fall sick. I completely understand you, really, because I’ve had those days too.”
“Actually, they’re all misunderstanding me… I’m talking about those knights kneeling over there, and those other knights, clerics, and fathers, who haven’t knelt before me yet… I won’t name each one, but they, like you, have a deep misunderstanding of the Gate of Truth. Or rather, a deep misunderstanding of me, believing we are demons—”
“You are a demon! You’ve killed so many—”
The little girl’s bright voice rang out again, promptly muffled by the village chief’s hand covering her mouth.
“Don’t speak, don’t speak, little one…”
The old man looked terrified.
He couldn’t hear well and couldn’t distinguish what the demon was saying, nor what the girl had exclaimed.
But he keenly sensed that at the moment the girl first shouted, the familiar villagers he had cared for over time now glanced his way, their gazes brimming with something utterly unfamiliar.
