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sticky blood
‘More than six-.’
Gesher Wind muttered, chewing his lip.
There was a famous saying that a knight can only fight another knight. It was a saying that clearly showed the strength of a knight.
The Imperial Knights were the knights of knights. They were so powerful that it was common for one Imperial Knight to face three regular knights.
More than ten of those imperial knights were entering the small room.
Judging from how quickly it came, it must have been nearby. Where was it hiding?
Gesher Wind realized what Avery had been hiding from him.
‘I was under suspicion.’
Gesher Wind was furious at him.
Haven’t you done your best in everything you were asked to do and everything you weren’t asked to do?
Even when Avery went west, it was Gesher Wind who did an excellent job of doing the work she was asked to do for the Eastern Management Office.
But for doubting himself, he was truly a boss who deserved to die.
However, it was clear that her suspicions were effective.
Six imperial knights would have been a sufficiently large number, but now there are twice as many as he has.
‘···It’s over.’
Gesher Wind clicked his tongue slightly.
Unless you are a transcendent being, there is no way you could take on that many imperial knights alone.
It was clear that Aaron was strong, but he clearly did not reach transcendence.
At that moment, Aaron slowly got up. He saw Avery panting beneath him. The sight of the horrific sight made Gesher Wind’s stomach churn.
Aaron let out a deep breath. The shell covering his upper body trembled in response. Yellow eyes grew on the shell like insect eggs.
It was quite bizarre how the yellow eyes moved busily as if they were each looking at different places.
Gesher Wind, who met eyes with one of them, quickly recited a spell and raised his staff.
‘A thin cloth-.’
It was a useful magic that made the outside visible from the inside, but the inside appeared opaque from the outside.
Since it was the magic I studied the hardest while attending the academy, my proficiency was extraordinary. It was so sophisticated that you wouldn’t notice it unless you were paying attention.
After unfolding it, my heart calmed down considerably.
‘···It was a demon. Then it was the primordial demon that Selena stole?’
The new clue made Gesher Wind’s head spin quickly.
The last part that was left unfilled was filled. That was Selena’s very first button. Once the first button was filled, the other ones followed in order.
‘That shape······.’
It was Gesher Wind who had been investigating the demons stored below while following Selena, but it was an unfamiliar sight.
However, that presence was real. It was clear that it was beyond simple erosion and was close to transcendence.
“How dare you, devil, tell me where this is!”
At that moment, the Imperial Knight raised his aura. A pale blue light filled the room, showing off its sharpness.
The aura spread sideways like an infection.
The sight of the five imperial knights raising their auras at the same time was so spectacular that it made one forget the situation.
The two imperial knights at the very front ran out without hesitation.
An imperial knight whose entire body was filled with blue light – the pressure felt on his skin was considerable. As expected, he was an imperial knight.
Aaron also started to move. Every time he moved, there was a strange sound and the shell fell off. Thump thump. The floor shook every time Aaron moved.
In the middle of the battle, the royal knight and Aaron collided.
The contrast between the royal knight emitting blue light and the terrifying Aaron was stark.
Even to Gesher Wind, who was not familiar with the sword of the Imperial Knight, it was sharp. The long, dark aura seemed ready to cut down the demon at any moment.
At that moment, Aaron extended his arm towards Auror.
‘this···!’
Gesher Wind expressed his regret.
To put my arm in Auror’s hand – that was something only a stupid demon would do.
Kwaang-! The room shook violently with a loud noise.
‘···Did you stop the aura?’
Gesher Wind grimaced at the unbelievable sight. The Imperial Knight’s sword was blocked by Aaron’s shell.
“The devil uses swordsmanship…!”
The Imperial Knight let out a roar. Looking closely, he saw that Aaron’s shell was pressing down on the Imperial Knight’s aura.
‘It’s erosion, but it has reason?’
Gesher Wind’s eyes narrowed at the unexpected situation.
Come to think of it, Avery was still alive, though he had been cut down to some extent.
If it was a demon that caused erosion, it would have been put in its mouth right away, but even though it was roughly handled, it was still alive.
Even after causing erosion, reason remains.
It’s not like it’s transcendent, so how is that possible?
At that moment, another imperial knight stabbed with his sword.
It was a neat combination that made it seem like the story of dealing with the demon of despair was true.
‘Then what should I do···.’
If Aaron were to lose, his own position would also be in jeopardy.
The chances of Selena’s plan failing were slim, but there are always some things that can go wrong.
Seeing as he had over ten royal knights with him, it was clear that Avery had some strings attached to him.
‘If Aaron loses, Selena might think I gave her the wrong information…’
Gesher Wind’s face turned pale. It was a situation neither here nor there.
If I did well, it would have been a situation where even Selena would have been caught.
Aaron suddenly extended his right hand. The imperial knight came and stopped him with his sword. Pieces of carapace and black blood sprayed around him.
at that time-.
“Kkaaaaaaah-!”
The imperial knight screamed. Red blood sprayed across his face. With a terrible sound, the imperial knight’s body collapsed.
Aaron… no, the head that had been torn off by the devil’s hand dangled. Even the long bones and flesh stretching out beneath it-.
The demon threw him back lightly, his head landing squarely in front of Avery. Avery let out a long scream.
The demon threw the headless knight’s body at another imperial knight. The imperial knight then swung his sword in a fierce rage.
Between the corpses cut in half, the demon grabbed the head of the imperial knight.
The imperial knights behind them rushed forward in a hurry, but-.
Crunch. The horrible sound of flesh hitting the floor.
Avery’s screams became more pointed.
In an instant, two imperial knights fell.
Even the devil wasn’t unscathed.
As the thick carapace was torn apart, black blood spurted onto the floor, and a long gash was carved into the abdomen.
However, the devil’s expression was truly indifferent.
It was just moving towards the next opponent.
‘What is this-.’
Gesher Wind’s spirit flashed.
I was taking the situation too lightly. If that devil wins-.
Gesher Wind’s mind was confused by the red color painted around him.
Gesher Wind focused more on magic. Even what he saw inside was disturbing, so he changed it to the same material as the wall next to him.
Now I couldn’t see outside.
All that could be heard was a horrible sound.
Boom-!
“Kwaaaaak!”
“The opponent is a primordial level great evil! Everyone, prepare your formation!”
Because my vision was blocked, my hearing became more acute.
The screams and shouts continued on and on.
Aaron’s was not among them.
Ugh···.
Another gasp of breath-.
Gesher Wind realized that the situation was completely different from what he had read in writing.
“There’s not enough room to form up! Damn it! Tear down the wall!”
The shout grew louder and louder.
It seemed like they were trying to knock down the wall to secure more space.
“First, get out into the hallway! One of you, call for backup!”
As if things didn’t go as planned, a scream was heard again.
Bam-.
A cold sound was followed by a loud noise of something breaking. It was from the direction where the screaming had just come from.
“Four people at once! Don’t back down!”
The terrible sounds continued again-.
“A monster······.”
It became quiet after hearing a soft voice from far away.
Gesher Wind was so afraid of silence.
Heavy footsteps were heard from afar.
The sound of something being dragged was getting closer.
Gesher Wind held his staff firmly as he sought God for the first time.
Please, let that devil go somewhere else-.
at that time.
Damn it.
The footsteps stopped right in front of me.
A sniffling sound, as if smelling something.
Gesher Wind couldn’t breathe due to extreme fear.
Tears streamed from my eyes.
I just covered my mouth and trembled.
at that time-.
dripping.
Someone knocked on the cloth.
His hair turned white.
Please, please, please.
Mana returned to the staff,
Before I knew it, the magic was torn apart.
A demon painted in red blood was staring at him.
The flesh and red spaces visible beyond, and the smell of blood so thick it made my nose tingle.
This place was clearly hell.
“Please… please… I… please! That Aisha! Please… I haven’t even been in a relationship yet… and haven’t I done everything I could….”
Gesher Wind moved his hard lips in supplication.
I wanted to kneel down, but my body wouldn’t move due to the fear that had reached its limit.
The devil’s yellow eyes crinkled.
A terrible future was drawn for him.
The sins I had committed flashed through my mind.
Even though there was a just cause called the Management Bureau, it was clearly an extremely evil crime to treat people’s lives as they pleased.
Thinking about it that way, I felt a sense of injustice. If that’s the case, how many of those in the royal family would be upright?
Everyone in the imperial court treated the people of the continent like they were farming and harvesting under the pretext of being officials.
However, when I stared into the devil’s eyes, that thought entered my mind.
If only they would just let me go without any pain.
“Then, would you please pull out my head in one go? My neck is thin, so it will be easy for you.”
Gesher Wind said, tilting his head with force.
The demon’s eroded arm approached.
Gesher Wind shut his eyes tightly.
“Are you okay?”
At that moment, a blunt and rough voice was heard.
When he opened his eyes slightly, he saw Aaron with a crying face.
It was clearly a demonic figure, a monster that had just torn apart a human being, but looking at its distorted face made me feel sorry.
“Raise one finger if what she says is a lie. Raise two fingers if what she says is true.”
I nodded blankly at the subsequent orders.
‘You just asked me if I was okay···,’
Gesher Wind doubted whether he had heard correctly.
The gap between the monsters who had just committed that horrible massacre and who were so nonchalant about it was enormous.
It was as if I had been pulled up from hell in an instant, and it was hard to come to my senses.
‘···So that’s why Selena is crazy.’
Gesher Wind muttered in a daze as he watched the limping demon’s back.
***
Phew······.
I turned around, letting out a deep breath.
Certainly, it was a bit difficult to deal with eleven imperial knights at the same time.
The only good thing was that the erosion was different than before.
Before, when I caused erosion, my head would spin around as if I was very excited and my hands would move out of their own accord, but this time, I was able to stay calm.
It was easy to control the arm that was causing the erosion, and the space was good for me.
Moreover, the sight of the erosion was horrifying even to me, so it was good for instilling fear in the opponent.
However, it was still quite a tough fight.
The important thing is that, unfortunately, he survived again.
I looked down, wiping the blood from my face.
Avery was slightly off center.
Judging from the fact that he moved a bit from his previous position, it seemed like he put in some effort.
Avery’s eyes, looking up at me, were filled with fear. They were like eyes looking at a real devil.
I crouched down in front of him, letting out a deep breath.
“Uh··· how···.”
He muttered as if he couldn’t believe it.
Well, it was worth it.
At that time, I had a hard time defeating even a common knight, let alone an imperial knight, in a head-on fight.
She must be dreaming, seeing as I have defeated twelve imperial knights.
“Then shall we talk?”
I looked into her eyes, trying to suppress my hands that kept trying to move.
A very hideous and ugly demon appeared in the trembling pupil. The demon raised the corners of its mouth.
“That… that’s right! Aaron, it’s me! Avery! We had a good time! We went to war together! We finished the mission and drank together! And-.”
Avery moved her hardened face to a smile and spoke quickly. She desperately tried to recall the good old days.
That was right.
“Yeah, it was good.”
Those were good times, when you killed people, got covered in demon blood, got injured and almost died, and got back up, and at the end, you clinked your glasses and shouted, ‘That was a shitty day!’ and it was a good day.
Those were good old days, ignorant and crude.
“···But why did you do that?”
I was genuinely curious. I could have seen it wrong, or it could have been an act, but she looked pretty good together. I wonder how much effort I, the matchmaker, had put in for that.
I really tried.
Then, since, and now.
“That··· That···.”
Avery’s eyes rolled back in a circle.
I waited patiently.
“It was a management office internship! When you join the management office, it’s customary to go out and run your first mission yourself, but I was rather unlucky!”
I was unlucky-.
He muttered softly. It was a pretty good sound.
At the back, Asher raised his index and middle fingers.
There were two, so it was true.
“And I couldn’t help but lead you to the front lines of the Kingdom of Byzant! I was just a low-ranking official at the time! What do you want me to do? And you agreed to it back then! You were on my side!”
Her voice was quite desperate.
I nodded to him.
That’s right. Just like she said, I was at fault too.
At the time, I was so sure that even if all the fucking medieval bastards betrayed, those in the mercenary corps would never betray. Stupidly.
At that moment, Isher raised her finger.
This time, two were true.
Yes, it was true.
“The Bureau…! The higher-ups at the Bureau are wrong! That’s right! Do you know? Who was in charge of the Demon of Despair-.”
A light came into her eyes.
The corners of his mouth went up. He looked like a child about to throw a fire starter.
“Selena! Selena-! That bitch, the director of the Central Administration, left the Demon of Despair to the Kingdom of Byzant and kept the war going! She was the one who gave the order to push the Demon of Despair into our mercenary units, saying they were getting in the way of maintaining the front lines!”
It was a proud voice, as if he had unleashed his ultimate skill.
Isher hesitated, then raised two fingers.
Unfortunately, it was true.
Selena-. I muttered softly.
My tongue was tingling.
“I… yeah, I was just struggling to survive! I was sad about the mercenary corps incident too! It was really good back then, wasn’t it-? Yeah?”
Avery said with an awkward laugh, though his voice sounded quite desperate.
This time there was just one.
“Yeah, Avery.”
I muttered, exhaling hot breath.
“Huh? Aaron, let’s get revenge together… Yes! Let’s get revenge! On that bitch Selena-! I was preparing for revenge! How dare you throw our Laughing Lion mercenary unit to the devil’s food! This bitch!”
Avery let out a series of awkward curses.
This time there was only one.
I stared into her expectant eyes. Avery’s eyes were sparkling just like that time. Just like when she thanked the captain for speaking so kindly to her.
I opened my mouth, trying to suppress the guilt that was welling up inside me.
“Do you know what the first star said before he died?”
Avery’s eyes moved busily at my question.
The image overlapped with the star of the Bizant in my memory.
The first star that faced me, now armored, was similar to her.
He kept talking and kept expressing his sorrow.
“He said he did it to save his own life.”
I slowly reached out my hand as I looked at Avery.
The brilliant Avery seemed to understand my story and opened his mouth hurriedly.
“I can’t go to the devil of the despair!
He talked a lot, as if he was taking out something he had saved.
When I covered his mouth, it became quiet.
“So do you know what I said to the first star?”
I tried my best to keep my voice steady.
Her pupils grew so wide that they seemed to tear apart.
I looked into those eyes, filled with a variety of emotions, without avoiding them.
[The enemy is an empire, so what power could I have! I only thought about the kingdom! I just wanted to live so that the kingdom could last a little longer!]
Why did everyone say the same thing in the end?
It was just to survive.
It could be true. It could just be an inevitable tragedy that happens because this place is a fucking hell.
“Tell them directly.”
He repeated what he had said to the first star and clenched his fist.
Crack.
“I will do that too.”
He muttered softly and wiped the blood from his hands.
The sticky blood didn’t even blur the ink.
“Hiccup!”
When I turned my gaze to Hiccup, I saw Isher holding up her finger with a puzzled look on her face.
Even though there was only one finger extended-.
‘Don’t you usually raise your index finger?’
I clicked my tongue as I watched the guy who was vaguely going up stop.
***
“What are you doing if you don’t get off?”
The five eldest sons frowned as they watched the first son, Balhar Khan, hesitate.
The guy who had been talking excitedly until just a moment ago was hesitating and not getting off.
The five elders then turned their gaze to the horrible corridor that seemed to lead to hell.
A very strong smell was emanating from the very inside.
It was definitely the third one. The scent was so strong and thick that it made me instinctively fear it. My hands were shaking.
However, the fifth eldest son could not admit that he was afraid of the third son.
Pride overcame fear.
The five eldest sons took the lead.
The flesh and red blood strewn across the hallway looked rather gruesome even to the five elders.
There were two holes on either side of the middle, and the five elders who looked inside stuck out their tongues.
I don’t know why he went to the Eastern Management Office, but it was clear that it was based on a very deep anger.
‘Death of hypocrites.’
It was terrible, but the corners of the five elders’ mouths went up because they were all hypocrites.
I followed the scattered pieces of flesh as if telling them to follow me, and headed towards the room at the end.
It was difficult to tell if it was a room because the walls were completely collapsed and the inside was clearly visible from the hallway.
And there-.
“You’re late.”
The third child was sitting calmly among the rolling heads. His appearance was different from usual.
The carapace, evidence of the spirit, covered the entire upper body of the creature. It reached up to the neck, just below the face.
The five elders were slightly astonished at the fact that he could speak even though he had caused such a stir.
How can you maintain your sanity when you have a god inside you?
‘Is it because he’s not in his right mind?’
The five elders, who had been muttering softly, nodded their heads because it seemed plausible.
“Oh, right. The eldest son called.”
At that moment, the third one stood up, speaking lightly.
Then the guy’s presence grew even stronger. No, it was already so strong that it couldn’t even be called a presence.
The five elders desperately held back their knees from bending on their own.
‘Why is this guy behind me···.’
The first Balhar Khan, who had been furious until just now, hid behind him.
At that moment, I saw the bastard’s scar.
‘You’re badly hurt.’
The bastard had thick scars all over his body. He even walked with a limp.
“Are you okay?”
The five elders asked unconsciously.
“Unfortunately.”
The guy chuckled and took the lead, saying, “What’s good?”
“for a moment.”
At that moment, the first Balhar Khan stepped forward. Balhar Khan stepped forward quite confidently and turned his head slightly when the third one looked back.
“Are you planning on going around the imperial palace like that… No, are you planning on doing that?”
The five elders nodded at Balhar Khan’s subtle remark.
Third, his whole body was red with blood, and more than half of it was covered in a shell, evidence of a spirit.
Anyone who looked at it could clearly see that it was a great devil.
No, it was clear that he was the king of demons.
It was clear that walking around the imperial palace in that state would lead to dire consequences.
“I see.”
The man who muttered softly furrowed his brow. His expression looked just like he was about to take a shit, so the five elders held their noses.
However, there was no stench as expected. The creature’s shell trembled and then gradually subsided.
It was as if a wild beast were ruffling its fur.
‘To manipulate the spirit so freely…’
The five elders were shocked again. Everything they knew about the spirits seemed to be denied.
He dared to treat Kangshin as if he were his own power.
Then the shell gradually sank.
The volume has noticeably decreased compared to before.
However, it still didn’t look good. Plus, it was covered in blood.
“Oh, can I help you with something?”
The guy in the corner came out and asked.
Compared to the horrors surrounding him, his demeanor was too normal.
As the third nodded, the bastard twirled his cane.
Then, the scattered fragments of the imperial knight’s armor began to gather themselves together. The fragments formed their own shapes and moved around the third’s arm, forming the armor.
He swung his staff again, and all the flesh and blood that had clung to him were washed away.
“Oh, that sounds plausible.”
The third nodded.
‘That sounds plausible-.’
The five elders were astonished in another sense.
The third one was now in a state where his arms had grown abnormally large. With the armor on top of that, he looked like a monster walking around on its arms.
Still, it was better than walking around with your shell exposed.
“Seo… Hurry up. It’s late.”
The first Balhar Khan, who spoke briefly, headed towards the elevator. His steps were somewhat unnatural.
“Do your best.”
The third one patted the shoulder of the man holding the cane and followed him.
They stood side by side in front of the elevator.
However, it took quite some time for the elevator to arrive.
The awkward silence continued because the third child, who would normally make silly jokes, was quiet.
The five elders were careful not to breathe without realizing it.
Ding.
Just then, the elevator arrived.
First came the eldest Balhar Khan, then the fifth eldest son, and lastly the third son.
Even though there were only three of us, the third one was so big and had such big arms that it was cramped.
An uncomfortable silence followed.
How far did it go?
“ah.”
The third one suddenly opened his mouth.
The five eldest sons and the eldest son, who had been nervous, looked back at the same time. At the bastard’s cold gaze, the five eldest sons unconsciously swallowed their saliva.
“My stomach hurts.”
The guy with the corners of his lips slightly raised spoke confidently.
Now it was just a very shameless dog barking that didn’t even catch a fish or give off a bad smell-.
I couldn’t bring myself to point out the immense weight of the thing that filled the space.
The first one, whose face was roughly crumpled, hurriedly turned his head away.
The five eldest sons tried hard to avoid the gaze of the eldest son who was looking at them.
The first Balhar Khan, who flinched for a moment, soon bit his lip.
“······Where. I’d rather go together.”
The first one asked while sobbing-.
“Where the Demon of Despair is. Oh, don’t worry, I’ll really go there once this is over. I’m really going.”
Aaron answered with a grim expression on his face.
Looking closely, it was a smile.
“There······. Okay. I have to go this time.”
The first one, who had been mumbling softly, turned his gaze.
His side profile was more shabby than ever before.
He has five sons-.
‘I originally planned to move with him. He’s different from the first one.’
He denied it desperately.
He wasn’t scared of the guy, he just had a shared interest.
I was never attracted to the guy.
The five elders hid their trembling hands behind their backs.
