Chapter 94
Chapter 94
Chapter 94
Saya immediately recognized the demon before her as Gusian. That stench was unmistakable—the same demon who had tortured Aiden with illusions back in the dukedom. She had sworn back then to tear him apart.
Now, here he stood before her, yet Saya couldn't act recklessly. Not only was Siron blocking her path, but the situation itself made no sense.
A demon from the Demon Realm stepping onto the continent? That meant breaching the Divine Barrier—an impossibility by all conventional logic. It couldn't be a summoning by the Demon God Cult either. No sect possessed the power to manifest a Greater Demon, let alone one of Gusian's caliber.
Frustrated, Saya furrowed her brows. She studied him intently before speaking in a suspicious tone.
"You're real, but not your true body. What are you—some kind of avatar?"
Gusian's massive crimson eye curved into a crescent moon as he let out a chilling laugh.
"Sharp eyes, as expected of a nine-tailed fox."
The demon before her was but half of Gusian. Saya's voice turned icy.
"Whatever you are, you shouldn't be here."
"Nothing is impossible for Petesarkin."
He was referring to the Chaos Demon God. It seemed he had crossed over to the continent by borrowing its power.
Saya briefly considered this before dismissing it with a wave of her hand.
"I don't care. I'll just send you back."
Gusian must have paid a steep price just to manifest here. Of course, Saya had no way of knowing the specifics—nor would he tell her if she asked. The best she could do was render his efforts futile.
She had some confidence. Against Gusian's true form, she'd need at least four tails bloomed, but an avatar? She could handle that easily.
Her pupils darkened with killing intent.
Blue spiritual energy enveloped her body as she rose into the air. Flames of cyan erupted around her before she suddenly shot forward.
The sound of tearing air followed. In an instant, she closed the distance and swung her arm. Her elongated nails transformed into azure whips, lashing toward Gusian.
At the moment of impact, Gusian exhaled a thick plume of black miasma. The claws meant for him sliced through the cursed demonic energy instead, gouging deep into the ground. BOOM! Shattered stone fragments scattered in all directions.
Landing gracefully amid the swirling miasma, Saya was met with a sinister chuckle.
"I am not your opponent."
Though she couldn't see him, pinpointing his location was easy—her heightened sense of smell made sure of that.
The moment she caught the stench, Saya manipulated her spiritual energy. Pale spheres of light bloomed one by one, scattering across the cavern like stars. It looked as though hundreds of lanterns flickered in the darkness.
"Found you."
With a cold whisper, she pointed forward.
One of the floating orbs plummeted like a shooting star. BOOM! The impact cratered the ground, sending shockwaves rippling outward. The deafening explosion echoed through the cavern.
He had dodged again, but it didn't matter. Hundreds of energy spheres remained primed in the air.
Saya began moving fluidly, her arms and wrists tracing elegant arcs. Her graceful motions left trails of blue mist like the tails of a phantom.
With each gesture, the orbs rained down. Cyan streaks cut through the darkness.
BOOOOM—! Explosions erupted without pause, debris flying in every direction.
The cavern, part of the Giant's Forest, was vast enough to withstand the onslaught. Any ordinary cave would have collapsed by now.
Amid the bombardment, a sharp metallic screech pierced Saya's ears.
Not the sound of demonic energy or earth being torn apart—but steel scraping against steel.
Siron had intervened.
Sure enough, the Valkyrie tore through the smoke, lunging at Saya. Though small in stature, her momentum was undeniable.
Saya gritted her teeth.
WHACK! A tail whipped across Siron's face, sending her crashing into the distant wall. Saya had meant to knock her unconscious, but failed.
Slowly, Siron pushed herself up. The moment she let out a demonic shriek, the black miasma filling the cavern surged into her body.
As the smoke cleared, the truth became evident.
The corrupted Valkyrie had completely lost control.
Her crimson eyes and grotesquely twisted facial muscles were proof enough.
From somewhere, Gusian's mad laughter echoed.
"Now, kill each other! Let Taegwang despair!"
As the source of "despair," he grew stronger through the screams and tears of others. But what if he could make a divine being despair? Gusian would gain immeasurable power.
It would more than make up for losing the dukedom. The thought of getting revenge on Aiden delighted him beyond measure.
He fed even more demonic energy into Siron.
Her eyes flickered with madness. The one who had made her feel weak stood before her—the nine-tailed fox. Hatred flooded Siron's heart.
Saya exhaled deeply.
"Kid, snap out of it."
No response came. Siron only trudged forward, dragging her twin halberds behind her.
Saya had anticipated this the moment she encountered Gusian. Her confidence in victory remained unshaken.
The only fear was harming Siron. She was Aiden's subordinate—someone Saya couldn't bring herself to hurt.
Her thoughts shattered as Siron kicked off the ground, launching herself forward. Raising her halberds high, she hurled herself at Saya.
Control your strength. Saya grimaced, loosening the muscles in her tail. Harder than before, but not enough to break her spine—she adjusted carefully before swinging.
At the moment of impact, Siron released her halberds mid-air and caught the incoming tail with both hands. CRACK! The force shattered every joint in her fingers, her small body convulsing from the shock.
Yet Siron felt no pain. Driven solely by the desire to kill Saya, she flung the tail aside and plummeted downward. Her leg, raised vertically, aimed to crush Saya's face with her heel.
Saya, momentarily startled, reacted instantly.
She twisted her body aside, dodging the attack. BOOM! The ground cratered in her place. As she moved to strike Siron's nape, spear-like tendrils of miasma rained from above.
Gritting her teeth, Saya leaped back.
At the same time, she sensed something approaching from the left—Gusian's black lance. SHIIIING! She barely arched backward to evade. The lance dispersed like smoke.
Rolling mid-air, Saya landed gracefully. She didn't pause. While dropping spiritual orbs on Gusian, she lunged at Siron.
In an instant, she closed the distance. Her fist drove upward into Siron's solar plexus. THUD! Blood sprayed from Siron's mouth onto Saya's face.
Suppressing her irritation, Saya seized Siron's throat in a crushing grip. She planned to knock her out quickly before tearing Gusian apart.
Above, the Greater Demon's crimson eyes gleamed. The moment their gazes met, the scattered miasma began taking shape.
An Iron Maiden.
A coffin lined with iron spikes materialized rapidly, its maw gaping wide around Saya and Siron.
Gusian burst into delighted laughter.
"Scream together in harmony!"
The doors began closing at terrifying speed. Saya could still escape—she intended to grab Siron and leap free.
But it was impossible.
Siron had anchored herself to the ground, locking Saya in a vice-like embrace.
Her already formidable physique, further enhanced by absorbed demonic energy, surpassed human limits. Saya could break free, but the recoil would tear Siron apart—her upper body would be ripped clean off.
Saya's expression twisted violently. With Gusian's gleeful laughter ringing in her ears, the Iron Maiden snapped shut.
CLANG—!
A metallic echo resounded through the cavern. Blood seeped out, pooling beneath the contraption. The spiritual energy scattered throughout the cave dimmed and faded.
Gusian hurled a condensed lance of miasma at the Iron Maiden. THUD! The tip pierced clean through, dripping with fresh blood.
After observing for a moment, he leaped down from the ceiling and approached the execution device.
"How anticlimactic. Even a divine beast is just an animal in the end."
Had he known it would be this easy, sacrificing Siron wouldn't have been necessary. Vessels like hers were rare, even for a Greater Demon.
A shame. Perhaps he could recover her corpse and hand it over to a necromancer among the Greater Demons—that might recoup some losses.
With that thought, he reached for the Iron Maiden. The creaking doors swung open, revealing the interior.
Hundreds of spikes were slick with blood and torn flesh. Saya, cradling Siron, slowly collapsed.
Her silver hair and snow-white tails were dyed crimson, unrecognizable from before.
Gusian nudged her with his foot. What expression would Aiden make if he saw this? The thought excited him unbearably.
Having observed their relationship through Siron's eyes, he knew Aiden would grieve deeply. Yuron, Deril, Sain, Yona—he'd gather the rest of them here too, stacking their corpses like cordwood.
By now, they were probably killing each other in the mountains, lost in illusions, mistaking comrades for Gusian. A beautiful self-destruction.
The Greater Demon seized Saya's hair, lifting her head—he intended to defile the corpse further.
Blood-soaked silver strands slid down her cheeks. Between them, Gusian met a pair of glowing blue pupils.
The faintest spark of life flared the moment she saw him. Before Gusian could react, Saya's tail moved like lightning.
In an instant, it coiled around his throat and squeezed.
"...Got you."
The result of overwhelming physical prowess and reflexes. Though hundreds of spikes had targeted her vitals, Saya had twisted her body to evade fatal wounds—and protected Siron in the process.
She forced out the last of her strength. With her muscles barely responsive, she used spiritual energy to propel her arm forward.
Her hand plunged into Gusian's chest. CRUNCH! The Greater Demon's face twisted in horror.
His heart had been ripped out.
Saya's pale arm protruded from his back, clutching a black lump of flesh.
Though he couldn't see it, Gusian felt it clearly.
Without hesitation, Saya clenched her fist.
SPLURT! Blood geysered upward. Disappointingly, it wasn't black—it was redder than Gusian's own crimson eyes. The demon grinned, his mouth stretching unnaturally wide. At the same time, a pale wrist flew through the air.
Gielran, the Sword Saint who had accompanied him as a guard, had severed Saya's arm with a branch-like blade.
Gusian caught the black heart mid-air.
He looked down at Saya and smirked.
"Good thing I took out insurance."
One of eleven hearts. Losing this one would force him back to the Demon Realm—but not before he slaughtered every last one of Aiden's comrades.
Gielran stared down at Saya. To him, she appeared as Fenrir. Without hesitation, he raised his branch-blade and thrust downward.
The slender wood pierced her fair skin, driving through the trapezius muscle toward her heart—flawlessly accurate. Her body had no time to bleed. It was too fast.
The tip tore through her aorta, transmitting its pulse to Gielran's grip. Saya's heart convulsed, vomiting blood.
At that moment, a desperate voice erupted from the cavern entrance.
"Master—!"
For an instant, Gielran's arm froze.