Chapter 25
Ambush (2)
Several hours earlier, Gaf and Johan lay prone atop a high cliff, watching the valley below.
Just as expected, a long procession entered the valley beneath them.
It was the pilgrimage delegation.
Even in the darkness of night, brilliant light surrounded them. Pure-white divine power protected the procession.
The Radiance of Evil’s Annihilation.
Lesser demons would be blinded the instant they laid eyes upon the delegation.
Gaf glanced at Johan.
“Does that not affect you? It’s divine power.”
“It is nothing more than a cheap glow.”
The corrupted Ring of Kazan was shielding him from the divine power.
‘Corrupting it first was the right decision.’
As expected, the ring had many uses. Without it, even Johan would have struggled to endure the radiance.
Gaf clicked his tongue in amazement.
“I have never met a demon who treated divine power so lightly.”
“Stop acting surprised every time. You will witness plenty of things that defy common sense from now on.”
As they spoke, the procession began to split apart.
A drab group broke away from the pure-white procession and took the branching path.
It was Krill and his subordinates.
There were roughly ten of them. They turned south toward their base, while the pilgrimage delegation continued north toward the royal capital.
“Krill is an experienced warrior. He will notice if we follow him openly. Stay farther behind. I will take the lead this time.”
Naturally, a mercenary was well versed in tracking people. Gaf could follow Krill without ever being detected.
“Fine. Get going.”
Gaf and Rael simultaneously kicked their horses’ flanks.
A short while later, Johan spread his enormous wings.
Gaf spoke.
“This time, things went according to common sense.”
Nothing unexpected happened. Just as Johan had predicted, Krill and the pilgrimage delegation parted ways at the end of the valley.
It was a route anyone could have anticipated.
Had Krill not turned there, he would have lost a great deal of time, as he would have needed to travel all the way around a large mountain.
Johan nodded.
“We no longer need to concern ourselves with the pilgrimage delegation. Let’s follow Krill.”
They intended to strike while Krill’s party was camped for the night. If they attacked while everyone was resting, their enemies would be less likely to respond properly.
Gaf descended from the cliff and mounted his horse.
**
Deep in the night, on a mountainside, a soldier standing guard died without even uttering a final scream.
Gaf’s iron sword had pierced his heart in an instant.
Gaf immediately surveyed his surroundings.
The other guard was nowhere to be seen.
Sentries ordinarily worked in pairs, yet he could sense no one else nearby.
‘I must find him quickly.’
The moment the other guard discovered the corpse, every one of Krill’s escorts would go on high alert.
That would make the mission far more difficult.
“Where are you?”
As Gaf sharply turned his head from side to side, he heard the piercing whistle of something cutting through the air.
Swoosh!
An arrow was descending from above.
“Damn it!”
Gaf swiftly twisted aside.
The arrow buried itself in the ground.
His gaze shifted toward the top of a massive tree.
Among the dense leaves, a soldier in leather armor stared at him in astonishment.
How could anyone dodge an arrow fired from a blind spot? The target’s reflexes were beyond human.
Realizing he could not win, the soldier immediately pulled out a whistle.
Just as he was about to sound the alarm, Gaf hurled a dagger.
The flying blade pierced the back of the soldier’s hand.
He dropped the whistle and fell from the tree.
Gaf sprinted toward him like an arrow.
He intended to finish the soldier instantly, but that proved impossible.
The man was tumbling down the slope.
‘If I chase him, I won’t make it in time.’
The plan was for Gaf and Rael to split up, eliminate every sentry in the area, and then reunite at Krill’s camp.
If Gaf descended the slope, he might be late to the rendezvous.
He immediately looked up at the night sky.
Fortunately, Johan was perched among the clouds with an indifferent expression.
“I’ll leave him to you.”
Gaf pointed down the slope before running toward the camp.
Johan was dumbfounded.
‘Did he just dump his work on me?’
To think he would push his own assignment onto someone else. Soldiers seemed to be the same in every world.
Clicking his tongue, Johan descended.
He could complain after dealing with the immediate problem.
Upon landing, Johan swept his gaze across the surroundings.
It was a narrow forest path, and a soldier lay sprawled amid the dense undergrowth.
Their eyes met.
“A-A demon!”
The soldier sprang to his feet. His left arm appeared to be dislocated, and he held it close to his body.
His eyes were filled with fear and vigilance.
The creature before him was no commonplace fiend.
It was a monstrosity with a single horn. Judging by its size, it was still only a juvenile, but it was unquestionably a dangerous demon.
The soldier drew his sword.
“The Great Saint is watching over me! Begone, spawn of evil!”
Without answering, Johan advanced one step at a time.
The closer he came, the more the soldier’s face twisted with terror.
“Wh-What do you want from me?!”
The soldier retreated.
His fear gave Johan a small measure of pleasure.
“I’m sorry. I bear you no personal grudge.”
At that moment, Johan kicked off the ground and spread his wings wide.
The distance between them vanished in an instant.
Johan swung his arm, sending his long crimson claws slashing toward the soldier.
Clang!
A metallic crash rang out. The soldier barely managed to block the attack, but his sword shattered into pieces.
The tremendous impact knocked him backward. He did not rise again. It appeared that he had lost the will to fight.
The difference in strength was overwhelming.
Johan stared down at the soldier in utter bewilderment.
The human before him was far too weak. He was undoubtedly one of Krill’s elite soldiers, yet he was not even a match for Johan.
To think he could subdue a trained human so easily—and while possessing the body of only a juvenile demon.
Johan could not help becoming even more curious about the bloodline of the body he now possessed.
“P-Please spare me!”
While Johan was lost in thought, the soldier began to plead. His eyes desperately begged for mercy.
‘I have to kill him.’
Mercy would only create future trouble.
There could be no witnesses.
Johan bit his lip.
This was not his first killing, but it was entirely different from what had happened with Betra.
This time, he would have to end a life with his own hands.
He would tear through human flesh and stain his hands with blood.
The weight of murder pressed down upon him.
Johan clenched his fist tightly.
‘Even if it weren’t today, I would eventually have to do this.’
Having resolved to survive, he needed to grow accustomed to killing.
In this world, his survival would always come at the cost of someone else’s death.
Johan raised his arm.
“P-Please!”
Squelch!
A stream of blood sprayed into the air. Johan’s long claws were embedded in the soldier’s neck.
The man died instantly, without even closing his eyes.
At the same moment, dreadful ecstasy engulfed Johan.
It was a sense of accomplishment born from instinct. As always, Johan began to lose control.
He laughed as he wept.
He twisted his body wildly, as though he might faint at any moment.
He wanted to resist the pleasure.
He wanted to remain human and suffer from guilt.
Convulsing, Johan launched himself into the air.
***
Krill could not believe his eyes.
The soldier who had gone to relieve himself had returned as a severed head, and an unexpected figure had emerged from the bushes.
“…Aren’t you Rael?”
Blood and chunks of flesh clung to the knight’s sword.
Krill’s last remaining subordinate shouted,
“Sir Rael! Was this your doing?!”
No answer came.
Rael merely stared at Krill with empty eyes.
Krill spoke.
“What in the world happened to you? You vanished without a trace, only to appear without warning and commit such treachery!”
Rael silently strode toward them.
Sensing that something was wrong, the soldier immediately blew his whistle.
No one responded.
“I-I think they have all been killed.”
Every last one of them was dead.
Krill shouted,
“Draw your sword!”
The soldier did not even manage to grasp its hilt.
An iron sword hurled from behind pierced through his spine.
“Guh!”
He vomited a mouthful of blood and collapsed.
Krill sharply turned his head.
A huge man wearing a black mask was approaching with heavy steps.
“And who the hell are you?!”
When the man removed his mask, Krill’s brow furrowed deeply.
“You’re the man who was at the castle…”
“I am Linus of the Kandea Mercenary Company.”
Linus was the name under which Gaf had operated, a legendary name that virtually every knight and warrior had heard at least once.
Krill let out a disbelieving laugh.
“You are the Lion of the East?”
“I was once called that.”
Krill’s gaze swept over Gaf, measuring him.
His appearance matched the stories.
Hair spreading in every direction like a lion’s mane, an overwhelmingly massive frame, and a perfectly balanced physique. His appearance alone was not enough to prove that the man before him was Linus, but it was more than enough to tell Krill that he was a powerful warrior.
“Why would a man like you serve beneath my brother? Come to me. I promise you appropriate compensation and treatment.”
“I already have both a demon and a witch attached to me. Do you think you could handle that?”
“What?”
“I doubt it.”
Gaf pulled his iron sword from the soldier’s body.
“You will find yourself in trouble if you kill me.”
“I have no intention of killing you.”
At that moment, Gaf charged at Krill.
His enormous iron sword traced a semicircle through the air, sweeping toward Krill’s neck.
Krill leaned backward and avoided it, but he failed to defend against the follow-up attack.
Thud!
Gaf drove his foot into Krill’s solar plexus.
“Damn it!”
Krill clutched his abdomen and stumbled backward.
Before he could catch his breath, something flew from behind and wrapped around his neck.
“Ghk!”
It was a rope thrown by Rael.
Caught by the surprise attack, Krill fell backward.
He desperately tried to escape, but it was impossible.
Every time he struggled, the rope dug deeper into his throat.
Groaning, Krill glared at the traitor.
His bloodshot eyes burned with rage.
Rael remained unmoved by his resentful stare.
He merely carried out his assigned task like a machine.
“Y-You bastard!”
Krill could not begin to understand Rael’s behavior.
He at least wanted an explanation.
But Rael mercilessly dragged him across the ground without a word and began tying him to a tree.
Krill’s entire body was bound securely.
Only then did Gaf remove the rope from around his neck.
“Why?!”
The moment he could speak again, Krill roared.
Rael did not answer. An eerie voice answered in his place.
“Because a demon stole his soul.”
Everyone looked toward the sky.
A demon with a white horn was slowly descending.
Shock spread across Krill’s face, and his eyes began to tremble.
“A-A horned demon!”
Horned demons were creatures that possessed horns.
They appeared occasionally in the north but were never seen in the south.
As the creature landed, black demonic energy billowed around him in place of dust.
The demon spoke.
“Do you remember the conversation we had several days ago?”
Conversation? Krill had never encountered a horned demon even once in his entire life.
“I warned you. If you refused to relinquish the barony, you would die the moment you set foot in your base.”
At that moment, Johan’s threat flashed through Krill’s mind.
—The moment you leave the Myatro territory and reach your base, Uncle, you will become a corpse.
His nephew had unmistakably said those words.
“I have come to keep my word.”
Krill’s mind could not keep up with the situation.
Just as a dreadful suspicion began to form, Johan lightly snapped his fingers.
The demonic energy in the air began to surge.
“Do not resent me too much. I did not want things to end this way either.”
As a reader, Johan had rather liked Krill.
He did not want to kill him.
But feelings and reality were separate matters.
Krill had to disappear for Johan to survive.
“I will take your soul.”
The demonic energy suddenly stiffened.
The solidified strands of smoke reflected the moonlight, gleaming like sharpened blades.
Krill swallowed dryly. He could not even imagine what was about to happen.
“Farewell.”
An instant later, the demonic energy tore through Krill’s heart.
Like a sickle harvesting grain, the razor-sharp smoke severed Krill’s soul.
Soul Slaughter.
It was the power to annihilate a target’s soul.
The light vanished from Krill’s eyes.
Like Rael, he had been reduced to an empty puppet.
Faced with such a horrific deed, Gaf turned his eyes away.
Johan spoke impassively.
“There is a way to kill Krill while avoiding responsibility.”
“…What are you planning to do?”
“We simply need to borrow someone else’s hand.”
Johan looked at Krill.
“Kill yourself.”
Now that Krill had become a puppet, he had no choice but to obey Johan’s commands.
Just as he was about to bite off his own tongue, Johan shook his head.
“No. Do it in front of your subordinates.”
Krill would return to his base and take his own life.
Once everyone there witnessed it, no one would be able to hold the baronial family responsible.