My Disciples Think I’m Strong – Chapter 230

Stella was moving away from Habito.

Following the Demon King’s orders, Habito had allowed Stella to head to the Royal Palace first with the special squad, so he could take revenge himself.

Of course, Stella didn’t think of it as consideration. All she felt was that it was just a scheme to use her.

Stella didn’t have a bad relationship with Habito, but she couldn’t call it a good one either. She was just acting in a way that suited her own goals.

If she knew that Habito was the one who had humiliated her, she definitely wouldn’t have been able to maintain a good relationship with him.

Just before Stella, who moved with the special squad, was about to infiltrate the Royal Palace, she came face to face with Inkuro, who was standing at the entrance.

“Hey. I’ve been waiting. For quite a while.”

With a Zwei-Hander resting on his shoulder, Inkuro grinned. Stella felt irritated and frowned.

Inkuro’s appearance was very handsome, but his looks were so unusual that it was impossible to hide his nefarious vibe.

“…You were definitely… next to my doppelganger when Praus was killed…”

“Oh, you remember that, huh?”

She remembered because she had used Inkuro to manifest.

“Ha, my popularity is truly amazing.”

He said that with satisfaction as he stabbed the Zwei-Hander into the ground.

Stella felt displeased at his reaction and pretended not to hear, looking around.

“Where are the other knights? Lurking around?”

“No. It’s just me here.”

“What?”

Her head turned towards Inkuro.

“I wanted to talk to you one-on-one since I like you. I asked the people of the kingdom to step back for a bit.”

“…What is there for us to talk about? You seem like an imperial citizen. Why are you here instead of protecting the Empire?”

“There’s someone over there who’s rude, arrogant, and seems utterly uninterested in anything. Just leave it to him.”

Inkuro mentioned Praus while saying that.

“…He doesn’t sound like a reliable person?”

“Still, that guy… isn’t a bad person.”

As Inkuro muttered that, annoyance suddenly surged. His expression twisted as he began to mumble.

“Ugh! Why the hell am I praising that bastard?!”

He felt belittled for praising someone who had beaten him. Though to anyone else, it didn’t sound like a compliment at all.

“So you’re saying that there’s someone trustworthy in the Empire, and you came here to kill us because we’re easy targets?”

“You’re really twisted. Didn’t I just say I came to talk?”

“…There’s no conversation between humans and demons. If you’re planning to stop me, I’ll have no choice but to kill you.”

She took a combat-ready stance. Even while watching her, Inkuro didn’t draw his sword.

“Do you know something?”

“?”

“Your current state is because of demons, not humans?”

When Inkuro spat that out, Stella’s ears perked up.

“…What do you mean?”

“Marquis Lector, who said that the Count of Forna was a puppet of demons, was also used by a demon named KyouKyou.”

KyouKyou was a demon Stella knew well. They were in the same legion, and she was aware that the information about the Aioum Kingdom came from her. She was dead now, though.

“So?”

“I heard that most of the citizens were brainwashed. Of course, that trash Marquis Lector was only trying to use KyouKyou while being blackmailed by him. All for the sake of boosting his wealth and honor.”

“And so what? What difference does that make? In the end, it wasn’t the demons but the royalty and nobility that killed my family… our clan…! That fact will never change!”

“…If a demon came to you, threatening to kill your family if you didn’t follow their orders, do you think you wouldn’t comply?”

“Shut up. Don’t make assumptions like that.”

“You would have had no choice—”

“Shut up!”

Stella couldn’t hold back her rage and charged at Inkuro. She created a sword from magic and swung it down at his head. Inkuro pulled his Zwei-Hander from the ground to block.

Clang!

“W-What a bratty girl, not my type at all. But the looks really are my type.”

His muscles expanded, and veins popped as he blocked with all his strength.

‘Wow, if a girl is this strong, how great would the guy be? Wouldn’t she be cut in half?’

While struggling to withstand Stella’s strength, he thought some rather inappropriate thoughts. If Praus had seen it, he would have probably said, “What a lunatic.”

Eventually, as Inkuro began to feel his strength waning, he pushed Stella away.

“Achieving revenge will leave you with nothing. You’ll just be filled with anger and resentment, and you’ll wish those days were worth something.”

“Shut up!”

Clang! Clang!

She attacked him with even more ferocity than before.

“How do you plan to fill that emptiness? Once everything is over, will you commit suicide?”

“Didn’t I tell you to shut up?!”

Inkuro deflected Stella’s sword.

“What does it matter? You’ve been mine from the start. I can’t stand to see my own people die.”

“What…!”

While Stella was left speechless, the demons that had come with her special squad began to move. They unleashed magic and weapons toward the unguarded Inkuro.

“Can’t you see I’m talking right now, you oblivious idiots!”

Just as Inkuro shouted in frustration, a fiery dragon coiled around him.

“Ifrit, kill all those bastards.”

[Inkuro, I cannot directly interfere in the human world. You know that. And what do you mean by telling me to bite and kill?]

“Cheh!”

Inkuro clicked his tongue as he infused fire attributes into his Zwei-Hander. As the sword’s temperature rose, flames surged forth.

“Stay still, Stella. Once I deal with those guys, we can have a serious conversation.”

“What?!”

Inkuro gave a thumbs-up to Stella, who looked utterly bewildered, before he stomped the ground. He swung his sword towards the special squad, engulfing the demons one by one in fierce flames.

‘Is he insane? A human wanting to talk to a demon…’

As Stella finally regained her senses, she moved her magic to connect with Inkuro’s mana.

‘I have nothing to say!’

“Manifestation.”

She peeked into Inkuro’s memories filled with shame. Due to the limitation that a memory could not be used again, transforming into Praus was impossible.

As she rummaged through his recollections, many scenes of him engaging in rough sexual encounters with women flashed by.

‘Seriously, it’s disgusting even seeing it again!’

In the end, after reviewing all the memories, there was no way for her to gain power from him.

It was the limited boundary of manifestation.

‘W-What kind of human even is this? That guy has never felt shame in his life?’

While humans experience countless moments of shame throughout their lives, Inkuro had never felt shame beyond that of being defeated by Praus.

In some sense, his self-esteem was outstanding.

“Enough. I’ll just crush you with my own power!”

Failing her manifestation, Stella dashed toward Inkuro. She aimed her sword at him, cutting through the special squad members.

Clang!

Inkuro managed to block it with a swift reaction, but couldn’t withstand the immense force and was sent crashing through the wall of a nearby house.

“Ah… Is there a rule about attacking out of the blue? I should take care of those meddling guys first.”

“You… you’re worthless to be alive.”

Stella’s magic burst forth with strength as she entered the building.

“Not necessarily. There are things I can do because I’m trash.”

He dusted himself off as he stood up.

“For example, making you my woman?”

“Don’t be ridiculous!!”

Even though Inkuro precisely fended off her attack, the furniture inside shattered and the entire house shook.

“I’m serious. If that’s what you want, I won’t stop the destruction.”

“What?”

Stella’s grip slightly loosened from the shock. Taking his chance, Inkuro deflected her sword and swung at her neck.

However, the Zwei-Hander did not sever her neck. He merely kept his gaze locked onto her eyes.

“…What are you doing? Why aren’t you killing me?”

“—Go.”

Inkuro lowered his sword and spoke.

“What?”

“Aren’t you going to destroy the kingdom? Go ahead.”

He pointed toward the Royal Palace visible through the broken wall.

“What… what do you mean…?”

“I know very well people with the same eyes as yours. I can confidently say that because I lived in the slums as a child.”

“I don’t care about your life—”

“You were thinking of dying, weren’t you?”

“…!”

“It’s clear to see you wouldn’t listen to anything I say right now. If your only reason to live in this world is revenge, that would be even more true. So go ahead and execute the revenge you intended.”

“Do you even know what you’re saying? If I break into the palace and kill all the royal family, it’ll cause a huge uproar!”

“So what? I couldn’t care less.”

Stella felt perplexed by Inkuro’s way of thinking, which was on a different level from any human she had encountered since becoming a demon. For the first time, curiosity arose in her heart.

“You’re insane… How can you say that to a demon?”

“Whether you’re human or demon doesn’t matter to me. I just want you because I’ve taken a liking to you. I’ll do anything to have what I want.”

“…How dare you treat me like a mere object?”

“I never treated you as an object. That’s just how I expressed it.”

He passed by Stella as he spoke.

“Anyway, if you decide you want to end your revenge and wish to die, come to me. I’ll make sure you never want to think about dying.”

“…We won’t stop until the Empire falls… No, until humanity is extinct. By the time I fulfill my revenge, the Empire will probably be in danger too. Will you be able to maintain that attitude then?”

At Stella’s provocative words, Inkuro paused in his tracks.

“Don’t be arrogant. Just because I’m not killing you doesn’t mean other demons won’t kill you. And there are plenty of stronger beings than me in the Empire. End your revenge with revenge. If you go further, Praus will want to kill you too, and that’s something I don’t want.”

“I’ve already stained my body and heart! I’ve killed countless people! And you still like me?! Are you crazy?!”

“You’re not that different from me, really.”

As Stella recalled the past she saw through the manifestation, she found herself speechless.

She had figured out that he too had sold his body and committed murder to survive during his time in the slums.

“Are you trying to make me feel guilty?”

“I’m not trying to make you feel guilty…!”

“Well, then it’s settled. Make sure to deal with it properly.”

“You…! What if people find out that you saved me…?”

“I told you, you’re mine. I’m kind to my women, so I’ll bear that responsibility. So, the decision is up to you.”

As Inkuro stepped forward, he turned back once more.

“Oh, and Praus said there’s still a chance for you to become human.”

“…”

For a moment, she was captivated by the thought of becoming human again but quickly shook her head.

Stella knew well for herself how far she had come to be able to return to being human.

“It’s meaningless. Just keep that in mind. I don’t care if you’re human or demon.”

With those final words, just as Inkuro was about to leave the house, the remaining demons of the special squad ambushed him.

“You bastards!”

Just as Inkuro was about to raise his sword, the bodies of the ambushing demons were torn apart mid-air. His gaze shifted to Stella, who had just landed.

“What’s up with you? Were you watching me?”

“…It’s the price of your life, idiot.”

The real reason was that it would be troublesome if someone learned about the conversation she had with Inkuro.

“Wow, you really have a sharp tongue.”

“Get lost.”

Stella shot him a glance before kicking the ground and disappearing.

“Telling me to get lost but disappearing herself.”

As Inkuro watched the direction she vanished, he smirked.

It was understandable, as the direction Stella went wasn’t towards the Royal Palace, but rather the territory where the Count of Forna once resided.

“Hmm.”

Stretching, Inkuro looked toward the sound of explosions.

The sky was red. Specifically, the clouds had turned crimson. One side of the kingdom was beginning to be drenched in a shower of blood.

‘It isn’t over yet…’

“Phew. Can I take on the legion leader alone?”

[Inkuro, you’re not alone. I’m here, aren’t I?]

“That’s true. Ifrit, shall we gamble our lives a bit?”

He raised his Zwei-Hander and started moving.