The Academy Exists to Be Attacked
As expected, a very familiar development. The whole reason academies exist is to get attacked.
Cain hummed a little tune as he walked forward. Any demon that charged him was casually crushed in his right hand. It reminded him of a movie he’d seen once. Guardians of the Galaxy, was it? He moved like the protagonist in that film, singing and dancing his way through the fight.
“Demon Slayer!!”
“Kill him—!”
Middle Demons rushed in with clear hostility. Cain danced between them, kicking and throwing punches as he spun. With wet crunching sounds, they were smashed into corpses and slammed into the ground.
“Yeeeah. Yeeeah—”
He finally understood why the movie protagonist had acted that way. It just felt too damn good. While the heroes on the other side were busy collecting treasures, he got to slaughter every demon attacking the academy. Win-win.
“…Oh.”
A fairly powerful presence rippled from not too far away. A High Demon—and one at the very peak of that rank. Whatever it was doing, it was growing stronger by the second. Some kind of body reinforcement? Should he wait a little longer?
Sure. Why not? He was in a good mood. Go ahead and do whatever you want, demons! I’ll wait. In exchange, though, I get to kill all your friends, yeah?
“Kyaaaaak! Run! It’s that human!!”
The demons that had been sniffing around for people were now the ones fleeing in every direction.
“How long are you going to keep running? He’s still just a human! Kill him and it’s over!”
Of course, some demons still showed the will to resist. They grouped together and waited, practically daring him to come at them. Cain deliberately ignored that group and started with the runners.
“Uwaaaaagh!!”
Blazing mana erupted from his right hand, incinerating the fleeing demons where they stood. They melted down amid pitiful screams. A few managed to escape the range. Cain didn’t even glance at them—he simply kicked. Mana blades formed at the tip of his foot and flew forward. Short, sharp screams. That was the end of them.
The remaining demons, having witnessed the slaughter, bared even greater hostility. They roared, determined to fight properly this time.
“There it is.”
This was exactly why he killed the runners first. It was a handy tip he’d learned over the years of slaughtering demons. If you took out the ones who wanted to fight first, the runners would just keep fleeing.
Even if he pretended to get tired, they never took the bait. Instead they’d see it as an opportunity and run even harder. In the end he still caught and killed them all, but it was an annoying, headache-inducing process.
On the other hand, if you made a point of hunting down the runners first?
The ones who wanted to resist would grit their teeth and charge with ferocious determination. The moment he showed even the slightest opening, they’d all swarm him. No need to chase anyone down one by one. He could clean them all up right here, nice and neat.
“Everyone clear the way!!”
One of the Middle Demons who looked like their leader stepped forward. “I’ll hold him somehow, so in the meantime—”
Crack!
“Ah.”
Cain, who had thrown a punch out of pure habit, let out a small sigh. The demons were rendered speechless by the genuine “oops” look on his face.
“Hey. Sorry about that. You were in the middle of giving orders, huh? A strong one popped out so I swung without thinking. Who’s the next leader? Speak freely. I’ll wait.”
Screams rose up—What kind of human even is this guy? Still, another demon picked up where the dead one had left off. They would risk their lives to pin him down while the rest attacked.
They might even manage to wound Cain! Right now, this was the method with the highest chance of success. So don’t hold back—let’s do this! Who’s willing to stake their life with me!!
—The demon shouted as he turned around, only to freeze.
“Done?”
At some point Cain had gotten behind him. Having massacred every last demon, he smiled.
“Y-you said you’d wait just now…”
“As if.”
The mace slammed straight into the demon’s snout. Blood sprayed as the last Middle Demon’s life was snuffed out.
Appetizer finished. Time for the main course.
Cain headed toward the spot where the quite powerful presence could be felt. The source was the center of the collapsed academy building. He simply smashed through every piece of debris blocking his path. Before long, he had arrived at this chapter’s boss phase.
So this was the protagonists’ first trial in those romance fantasy stories?
There, a High Demon was crouched with its eyes closed, as if sleeping. It didn’t move a muscle. The way it waited for someone was textbook boss positioning.
How did the protagonists usually act in moments like this? It didn’t feel good. Very ominous. Time to leave. After a quick mental consensus, he tried to sneak away quietly.
But as always, someone had to make a mistake. Specifically, making noise at the exact moment you weren’t supposed to.
It’s always like this, isn’t it?
Thud.
He lightly kicked a pebble rolling nearby.
Clack. Thud. Clatter—!
The pebble bounced around in every direction like it was in a cartoon. It might as well have been shouting, Boss, please wake up.
The world really had been built with ridiculous attention to detail. Hey, little bro—even though the setup is weird, the cliché parts are perfectly cliché.
Cain crossed his arms and waited quietly for what came next.
“…Hoo. We have a guest.”
Once again, Cain’s prediction was spot on.
“Not one of my kin. A human, then.”
The demon spoke with its eyes still closed. Impressive dedication to the bit.
“How truly unfortunate that you’ve come all this way. Of all places, right in front of me.”
The lines were clearly aimed at lost protagonists. Normally this would be the moment the male leads showed off their abilities, but the demon was busy striking a heavy boss pose.
“Hey.”
“…?”
“Wake up.”
Unfortunately, it wasn’t the protagonists who had arrived.
“…Hm?”
It was a demon far worse than any demon.
“You…. Surely not. ‘That guy’?”
“Good evening. I am indeed that guy.”
“….”
This was a High Demon. One at the absolute peak. A being even the knights humans relied on feared. And yet here was a human cracking jokes right in front of it.
There was only one human in the world capable of that—the one who dared to carry the title Demon Slayer despite being human. A monster even demons had no choice but to acknowledge.
“Cain.”
Those blue eyes blazing with mana. The screams of demons wrapped around his right hand. From this side, he could glimpse the final memories of his kin. The one who always decorated the end with blood and screams.
Where in the world had such a lunatic come from? Was he even human? Was he not some leftover scrap of god? It was almost funny that a demon would have such thoughts, but the man was overwhelming enough to warrant that kind of imagination.
No. Overwhelming isn’t the right word. That bastard is… transcendent.
Human, yet no word suited him less.
The High Demon Devas opened its mouth with a low growl.
“Weren’t you supposed to have gone somewhere else?”
“I did go.”
“And you returned this quickly? There may be more demons nearby, you know?”
“There might be. But there’s a collector here.”
The academy was a collector, and the protagonists were the bait. The real deal would come. The valuable ones would gather. There was no way Cain would pass up such a perfect natural fishing ground.
“You seem very relaxed.”
Devas knew Cain was strong. He was the famous Demon Slayer, after all. But Devas felt neither fear nor tension. Because he was different from the demons Cain had faced until now.
“However, Cain. Your arrogance ends here.”
“Oh?”
“Did you think we demons would keep losing to mere humans forever?”
For someone saying that, they sure got smashed a lot. Was there something more? An enemy reinforcement event, little bro?
“Lately whenever we meet you just run away and only launch surprise attacks. Is there something more?”
“It was to buy time. And finally, I have succeeded.”
Then tell me what you succeeded in already. Stop dragging it out and spit it out. My heart’s pounding so hard I can barely stand it.
“We have finally evolved.”
Ooh?
“Over more than ten years. We offered up the blood of you humans we had diligently collected and became even stronger. It took some time, though.”
“Really?”
“It is real.”
Devas laughed. Krahahaha. Yes. Be afraid, human. The thought of a battle even harder than the last war. The nightmare of facing even stronger demons in the future—
“Hey. So does that mean all demons get stronger? Every single one gets stronger, right?”
“…?”
“It can’t be that only a few chosen ones like you get stronger. Right?”
Devas fell silent for a moment, then asked how he knew that. The demons sent before shouldn’t have known that detail. It required an enormous amount of blood, making evolution impossible for most demons.
Only High Demons and those seated upon the Seven Deadly Sins could achieve it. So why was a mere human—and not even a demon—talking about it?
“I had a feeling, but as expected.”
It had been going so well. Cain clicked his tongue in annoyance.
Devas let out a sigh as if astounded by the sight. It looked like he would have to demonstrate his power.
“Prepare yourself, Cain. I will be different from the kin you have met so far.”
To the demon’s arrogant confidence, Cain gave a single dismissive reply.
“That’s for me to judge, not you.”
Snap. Cain beckoned with his hand. Devas did not refuse. It crouched powerfully, then shot forward like an explosion.
It was different. He had continuously absorbed human blood until now. In power, in speed, in demonic energy—it was overwhelming. No longer could this be called a High Demon. This was a level right below the Seven Thrones. It would not be out of place to call him a Top-tier Demon.
“Krahahaha!!”
Debris in the path of his charge was pulverized into dust. Devas laughed. Everything was beyond imagination. He himself had doubted whether he could truly become stronger. But now that doubt seemed utterly foolish.
“This is it! This is what I wanted!”
He had minimized eating humans while gathering blood. While absorbing that blood, he had also swallowed every kind of negative emotion. Fear. Terror. Hatred. Sadness. Anger. Regret. Desire. All of it mixed together, making Devas even stronger.
“Today this place will become your grave!!”
The demon’s merciless attacks poured down like a monsoon. The entire area was instantly devastated. Poisonous fog blanketed the surroundings. The heat of black flames burned and melted even rock. Terrifying power slammed down on Cain’s entire body.
“What are you doing! Where did that spirit from earlier go?!”
Thud!!
Devas’s savage hand smashed into Cain’s face. His head snapped to the side and his body staggered slightly.
“Krahahaha! What? For you to judge? A mere human dares!!”
Yes, I’ll admit it. You were a strong human until now. But did you think you would stay there forever? You humans are prey. We demons are the hunters. No matter how strong the prey is, no matter how much it resists! In the end, the prey’s fate is to be caught by the hunter and torn to shreds!
Boom!!
With Devas’s strike, Cain was slammed into a wall. Krahahaha!! The demon roared with wild laughter and declared,
“I will gather even more blood with this place as the center!”
The academy. What a wonderful place. So full of blood. Stupid humans. There could be no better nest than this.
And. This strange and unpleasant sensation I’ve felt since earlier.
It was different from Cain. This was more instinctive. Something that made one think it must be eliminated no matter what. A call of fate that created unconscious anger and wariness. Eliminate it. Kill it. Tear it apart and erase even the traces!
“Then…”
“I sometimes thought about this.”
Devas turned around with a startled expression. Cain walked out, spitting blood-mixed saliva. He was injured, but that was it. He was bleeding, but again, that was it.
“What to do once you’re all dead.”
“How… You’re still alive? That was my best strike?”
“Should I save killing you for later? No way. Demons should be killed the moment they appear.”
Thanks, little bro. So there really is a villain power-up event. It’s a very familiar development, but also a necessary one. I’ll give you that.
“But thanks to you, my worries have lessened.”
It means there are still plenty of demons left for me to kill. It means my reason for existing still remains!
He laughed. Laughed like he was going insane with joy.
Cain slowly drew the sword from his waist. It had no decorations whatsoever. An extremely crude blade. No ornamentation, no artistry, no formality—nothing. A tool forged solely for slaughter.
Rumble—!
Mana transferred to the sword and spewed flames. It burned red, then blue, then red again. Like its owner, it couldn’t stay still. The wildly excited madness shook even the mana itself.
“Kyaaaa!!”
The demon, sensing instinctive crisis, raised its claws. It charged with full power, intending to dismember him.
Sorry, demon. I wanted to play with you a little longer. But the moment I see you bastards, I can’t help but want to kill you. Just because you got stronger doesn’t mean I got weaker. You’re not even one of the Seven Deadly Sins, so you can’t possibly match me, right?
Smiling, Cain swung down the sword gripped in his right hand.
Piiiing—!
The madly rampaging flash of light swallowed the entire academy.
…That seemed a bit excessive.